Love Is Eternal
by RoseOfSilence13
Summary: A Sesshomaru story, originally on Quizilla, I'm the same author though! It's about a young goddess named Akaria and her situations concerning a certain "cold-hearted" demon. M for certain chapters. In 2nd POV from the original. Bad summary, good story!
1. Prologue

**Prologue: Birth Of A Goddess**

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Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

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It was a dark, and yet clear night. Lights could be seen for miles, coming from the Great Temple to the Sun and Moon. Inside, servants, priests, and priestesses were running around everywhere, all headed to one room. The chambers of the great Sun God and Moon Goddess. It was the Moon Goddess's time to finally give birth.

"My Goddess, please relax and breathe deeply and the child will come quickly." One priestess was saying as she proceeded to work on the moon goddess. The beautiful and graceful Moon Goddess, Tsuki, was in a frail condition. Her husband, the great and powerful Sun God, Taiyo, stood by her side while servants continued to rush around.

Some minutes later there was a great silence, and then a baby's cry could be heard throughout the forest. Everyone immediately became joyous at the sounds of the child being born.

"My Lord, My Lady, you have a beautiful daughter." The same priestess said.

"Thank you, Kisa." Lord Taiyo said as Kisa handed him his daughter.

"Taiyo, let me see my daughter." Lady Tsuki said faintly.

Lord Taiyo held out the child and she took the baby. "Well, now we must name her." Tsuki said.

"You should name her." Taiyo replied.

"Very well, I will name her Akaria, after the light. Tsuki looked at her daughter, she had a gorgeous shade of silver-white hair, and she had emerald green eyes, a mirror image of her mother.

Suddenly Taiyo called out. "It is time for the dawn, I must bring out the light."

And with that the golden orb appearred. But then something amazing happened to little Akaria.

Immediately, the child's appearance changed. Her hair changed to a pitch black and her eyes became a liquid gold color. Now she looked just like her father. Everyone was speechless.

"Taiyo, what has happened?" Tsuki said in complete bewilderment.

"I see. It seems that Akaria's appearance will change when each of our hours of dominance changes. I believe that she will look like you during the night, Tsuki, when you rule. But when it is time for me to reign during the day, she will take on this appearance similar to mine. This is rather interesting, I have never seen this happen to any celestial being before."

"Well, Taiyo, we can't take her up to the heavens with us, so what will we do with her, I don't want to abandon her." Tsuki said.

"Do not worry dear, I have been an ally with the great dog demon general, Lord Inu No Taisho."

"My Lord" Kisa interrupted. "It has been rumored that the dog demon general also had a child not so very long ago. It is also rumored that this child was also a son."

Excellent, this could work out well." Taiyo said as Tsuki laid down again to rest. Taiyo then picked up his new daughter, Akaria, and took her to the balcony of the Temple. "Look, my daughter, upon the world. You are the heir and goddess to the Sun and Moon."

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Well, that was the beginning of it. If you have not noticed, the baby, Akaria, is you (well, duh), and the child born to Lord Inu No Taisho some time ago, is Sesshomaru (again, duh). Okay then, please rate and message me!! I love feedback, but have mercy on me, this is my very first quiz. I know this chapter was pretty simple, but it will get better later on! So please don't give up on me! Ok! Bye!!

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	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Growing Up**

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Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

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This is the first chapter. The prologue took place about 500 years in the past!! That was the time that you were born, and Sesshomaru had been born a little earlier. About 6 months earlier actually. Now we are about a year shy of Inuyasha's birth.

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First, what do you look like now? Your hair and eye color are still the same (black hair, gold eyes when the sun is out/silver-white hair and green eyes when the moon is out). Your hair reaches down to your waist. Your height is 5'5". And even though you are hundreds of years old, you look like you are only 15.

Where do you live? You live at the Great Temple of the Sun and Moon. The priests and priestesses take care of you because your mother and father can't always be around (them being who they are). You have taken a special liking to one priestess named Kisa (no she is not the one from the prologue, but she is a descendant of her.) You two have become really close, she "looking" around your age and she is really nice to you. You two seem to act like sisters.

Once every year, around your birthday, your parents will come down from the heavens to see you. That time is coming close, in fact, your birthday is tomorrow. They will be coming down tonight, and you are really excited.

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_**Story Starts:**_

You are walking down the corridor, hoping to find Kisa, your black haired, brown eyed friend, and something of a caretaker or lady-in-waiting, before you have to go to your lessons. You don't see a point to taking classes for anything, but your mother and father have specifically told the priests and priestesses that you will take lessons. They said that it was important, as a goddess, to learn as much as you could on Earth. So you take lessons in Archery from Lady Hana, Herbs and Healing from Lady Tomoe, and the reading and writing part from Master Riko. You also have to take lessons in etiquette from Lady Sitae. You hate these lessons the most, Lady Sitae being the eldest priestess there, and she was always strict, never seeing anything you do as the correct manner. Then you also have to learn about your celestial powers. That you learn from Master Kiten. This is one of your most favorite classes. It seems that during the day, when the sun was out, you have power over fire and light. During night, you have power over water and darkness/shadows. Also, during anytime of the day or night you can run at a great speed, sometimes even having great spurts of speed (like Sesshomaru, but remember, you haven't met him yet). You can also fly and levitate and teleport short distances (again like Sesshomaru, but you still don't know him).

However, your absolute favorite lesson has got to be Swordsmanship with Master Ryoku. Master Ryoku has always been your favorite teacher and best friend, after Kisa. He is also incredibly handsome in your eyes. Tall and masculine with silken black hair that just gracefully brushes his proud shoulders. He has an air of strength and yet gentleness around him whenever you see him. But what you love the most about him are his penetrating electric blue eyes. Those amazingly unique and almost mysterious blue eyes that seem to hold the world in them whenever you see them looking at you. At this point you can't help but unconsciously let out a soft sigh, but then you catch yourself in the act.

'Wait, what am I doing?!' You think, profusely shaking your head, as if doing that will remove the thoughts you just had. Yet you love being outside in the beautiful, lush green fields with him, learning how to wield a sword.

You have become so lost in your thoughts that you don't notice that you had just bumped into the person you had been searching for all along.

"Lady Akaria! My Lady! Hello! Are you there?" Kisa's voice immediately brings you back from the vortex of your thoughts. She is holding her hand in front of you, wildly waving it just a few inches from your face.

"Oh! Kisa, I was looking for you, I wanted to spend some time with you before I had to go to my lessons." You say, your mind still not completely with you.

"Lady Akaria, did you forget? Your lessons have been cancelled today to prepare for you parents' arrival! They should be here in a couple hours."

You instantly turn your head to your left to look out the window, the sun has already begun to set. You know that your mom will not bring the moon out tonight, since she and your father will be here on Earth. So you know that they will be arriving soon.

"Okay, let's wait until they get here." You say to Kisa.

"Lady Akaria, I can't. I have to help the other priestesses prepare for their arrival. But I'll see you later then."

"Oh, ok, then."

And with that you head up to your room. As you are climbing up the stairs to the wing that holds the bedrooms, you see your favorite teacher, Master Ryoku, walking towards you.

"My Lady." He says as he bows to you. You instantly start blushing a rose red color and your cheeks begin to warm.

"Ryoku, you should know by now that I like it better when you call me by my name, without a title."

"I know, but I like the reaction you make when I say it." He replies with a small grin playing on his lips.

"Oh, you're impossible. You may be my greatest teacher, but you can still be annoying sometimes." You say with exasperation as you walk over to the doorway to your room. However, you couldn't hide your increasingly blushing cheeks, or the huge, glowing grin that had forced itself onto your lips, whether you like it or not.

You enter your room and walk past your light blue canopy bed and matching light blue walls and walk over to your gorgeous white marble balcony. You open the glass doors and rest your elbows on the balcony rail. You silently sigh to yourself.

'Tomorrow is my birthday, and my parents will be here soon, but I have a feeling that something is not right. I can just feel it.'

Suddenly you hear trumpets sounding, you know what that means.

"My Lady!" Comes Lady Tomoe's excited voice from your doorframe. "My Lady, your father and mother have arrived. The Sun and Moon have arrived!"


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Something Unsaid**

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Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

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"My Lady!" Comes Lady Tomoe's shrill voice again. "You must hurry down to greet them, it is only proper. Have you not learned anything from Lady Sitae?" She questions, yet you can still pick up a slight tone of teasing and amusement in the way she says the last sentence.

"Fine, fine, and here I was thinking that an expert in healing was supposed to be calm and gentle. That doesn't seem to be the case right now does it?" You retort, equally as mocking. You can't help it, even though you think that the lessons you take are worthless (except the lessons on your power and on swordsmanship, which are still a miracle you take seeing that normally a goddess, or any woman of rank for that matter, would never learn the ways of a sword, but with some begging, you were permitted to take the lessons), you can't help feeling a special bond with all your teachers, you respect them, addressing them with titles, even though they have no rank other than priests and priestesses. You treat them like family, especially since you need that sort of family atmosphere seeing as your parents are only on Earth one day and night of the year at most. Even though you are about to turn 500, a _**HUGE**_ turning point for any new god or goddess (according to your mother and father) you still feel young inside, and why wouldn't you? Seeing that you still look like a 15-year-old, despite your life's longevity.

But still, you care dearly for all your teachers, even the old, strict, and also old Lady Sitae. She does have her good points, she is a kind-hearted woman on the inside, way, _way_ inside, who is really only looking out for your best interests. 'I wonder how old she is.' You let your mind wander a little, not taking it in that Lady Tomoe is still in the room with you, staring at you like you have completely lost it, and wondering if she should really awaken you from the little cloud of thoughts you have put yourself in. She decides she will.

"My Lady!?" Lady Tomoe's voice brings you back from your pondering on how old Lady Sitae really is. You have to blush a little after thinking such things at a time like this. "Please, My Lady, you must go and welcome your father and mother. Here, My Lady, I have a wonderful kimono that you can wear that will be very fitting of the occasion." She then holds out a beautiful kimono, it is a magnificent shade of royal purple, and yet has no other designs on it, except at the bottom right corner, there is a symbol of the sun and moon intertwined together as one. It also has a shimmering golden obi that matched perfectly. It was indeed, very beautiful, you have to admit, but you were never one for dressing formally, rather preferring the short and plain kimonos that you wore for your lessons. One of which, a dark green one at that with an aqua blue obi, you were wearing right now. You smile mischievously at her, you have other things in mind as to how you are going to present yourself to your parents for the first time in a year.

"Thank you, my dear Lady Tomoe, for the kind gesture, but these are my parents, so I will see them my way. At least for the moment."

Lady Tomoe's eyes instantly went wide, she knows what you have in mind, but you just give off a small laugh at the look on her face.

And with that, you jump onto the balcony ledge and then jump once more, in a very skilled manner (you had also learned some martial arts from your celestial lessons with Master Kiten) down the 3 stories from where your room window is, to a field right beside the area the procession of your mother and father is taking place. You have always been rather bold when you wanted to be, everyone in the Temple knew that to be a fact, so, without remorse, you walk up to your father and mother who are now at the grand entranceway of the Temple, standing facing the crowd of villagers from nearby villages, who have come to see their beloved God and Goddess.

You walk through the crowd as if you are one of them and then walk up the stone steps to your parents. You bow low to them, still wanting to show respect, even if you don't want to dress for it.

Your mother speaks first, her calm, almost fluid-like voice flowing to your ears, a voice that you are always glad to hear, even when it is being used in reprimanding. No matter how old you are, you are still her daughter. "My dear daughter, you know that a proper lady never jumps down 3 stories to greet anyone, not even her family."

You blush a slight pink, you know that she had seen you, your parents could often see and sense what others could not. 'Yeah, that's my mother all right.' You think to yourself, while rolling your eyes at her greeting to you. Yet, you love your mother, you look so much like her, more so at night. Her tall, thin, yet strong figure, her shining silver-white hair that falls to the back of her knees and almost seems to flow as though immersed in water, and her sparkling emerald green eyes, she is practically your match when you change at night.

Your father then breaks the short silence with his own voice. His voice is not like that of his mate, yes mate, for gods, like demons, take mates, not husbands or wives like those humans. Mating is a more powerful bond. And that is what your father's voice is, powerful and commanding, and yet at the same time, you can always easily find a trace of gentleness, your father almost never spoke harshly to anyone.

"Ah, Tsuki, never mind how she comes to us, the point is that she comes to us at all. Do not reprimand her as a greeting, for after all, her birthday is tomorrow!" You father says in a hearty manner, letting out a great chuckle.

You almost let out a laugh yourself. Your father, strong and powerful, his very presence demands respect. And yet, it shows kindness and caring in it as well. His long black hair that only slightly falls past his shoulders and his yellow eyes that look like a pool of the purest gold. It is this appearance you took on during the day, the appearance that you still have right now, even though in just a couple hours, you will change to look like your mother.

Your mother's lips turn into a slight frown at your father's response, but in those mystical green eyes of hers, you see a twinkle in them, just like the stars that circle in her domain at night. While being a practical woman, or goddess, really, she still has a wonderful sense of humor.

"Yes, her birthday is tomorrow and that is why we have come is it not, Taiyo?"

The way she said that made you think that she is trying to get to some point that she has to say, though she doesn't really have any desire to.

Your father seems to notice your sudden curiosity to what she has said, so he instantly replies "Ah, yes, tomorrow is her 500th birthday, a big step in the life of any goddess, meaning that you have come of age my daughter." He said it a little more heartily than you would have liked without arousing some sort of suspicion, but you let it slide. You had heard him say something that brought that suspicion aside.

"Come of age?" You ask.

"Yes, the 500th year in a goddess, or demon's, life is very important." You mother answers this time.

Now you are really confused, 500 years was the point of coming of age? You did not know that, and since you were suspicious of something, and therefore looking deeply into everything that your parents were saying at the moment, you can't help but notice, your mother had said that this was also an important year for demons too.

'Why would mother mention demons?' You think. 'Mother and Father have never talked about demons. Come to think of it, I have never even seen a demon before. I've heard of them, but the only one I've heard of was that Lord Dog Demon that rules the Western Lands. Doesn't father visit him every once in a while?'

Thoughts are now racing their way through your head, and apparently it is giving you some sort of glazed look because your parents both look at each other and then your mother speaks to you.

"Dear? Are you all right?"

"Huh? What?" You say, coming back to the real world. It seems you lost yourself in your thoughts a lot today.

"Akaria, it is not proper for a lady to stutter and lose themselves in thoughts, especially when there are matters to discuss."

"Yes, mother." You say in a monotonous voice. Your mother's etiquette can really annoy you in only a matter of minutes.

Your father clears his throat and speaks. "Yes, well, indeed there are matters to discuss, let us go inside and discuss this, we seem to have been standing outside long enough."

That was what you had been waiting for this whole time. As you walk into the Temple, down the corridors and into the Great Hall and Main Shrine, you know that this is the point were you will get some answers. Answers to why your parents are acting so strangely, and why there is something they seem rather hesitant to tell you.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Birthday Gifts**

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Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

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After the many twists and turns of the corridors, you and your parents finally enter the Main Shrine. It is lavishly decorated with marble and gold trimming everywhere. Then, at the foreground of the shrine there are 2 grand and elegant golden statues of your mother and father. The statues are very well done and intricately designed. You can easily see your mother's elegance as the Moon and your father's power as the Sun in both these statues.

You have entered the Main Shrine many times to observe villagers praying and giving offerings, however, this time feels different to you. Almost like it is your first time seeing these statues at all.

Probably, seeing your parents in life as they stand in the shadows of these 20 feet tall statues (yes, that big!) you feel a strange sensation. One that you just can't explain, but for some reason you like this feeling. It is almost a sense of security, like the security of a family.

However, you push that thought out of your head. Your parents are going to explain something to you, and you want to know what this is all about.

"My dear father and mother, what is it that you wish to discuss with me?" You say in the utmost voice of respect. Showing any dishonor to your parents, especially in the Main Shrine, where priests and priestesses will most likely be watching, is not something you can afford to do at the moment.

"Ah, yes, well, let's save that for later. After all, it is your birthday, and as your father and mother, we shall of course, present some gifts to you to show your coming of age." Your father says.

You have the feeling that he is still avoiding the subject at hand. But whether or not you are a 500 year old goddess, you still have the spirit of a 15 year old girl, so when the word "gifts" came into the picture, your mind instantly switches into teenage mode.

"Gifts? For me?" You say in shock.

"Yes, of course, you cannot think that we would come to see our only daughter come of age, and come empty handed, did you?" Your mother says teasingly, one of her legendary smiles gracing her face.

Your face instantly lights up, in happiness, and yet, also in embarrassment, you _HAD _thought that your parents would come empty handed. In fact, the thought of gifts hadn't even bothered to cross your mind. But now that it had made that journey into your mind and entered it thoroughly, you become much happier than you had been just a few minutes earlier.

Your father speaks up now. "Yes, well, we have brought you 2 very important gifts. They will both prove very useful, however, they might not seem useful now, but you will learn of their importance in time."

You gasp and bow your head in respect, for your father to say something like this, this must mean that these gifts, whatever they are, must be incredibly important.

Now your parents both walk up until they are about 2 feet in front of you and then your father speaks again. "Your first gift will prove to be very useful to you, but you must not abuse it. Being a goddess takes great responsibility and therefore takes a great deal of power, especially when your time comes to take your mother's and my place in the heavens. Therefore, we shall give you the gift of telekinesis."

"Telekinesis?" You ask.

"Yes." Your mother adds. "The ability to move any object you choose simply by your thoughts. It will be very helpful, but you must not abuse it. The power over your thoughts is a very difficult task, so you must be careful with it."

"Oh, yes, mother, I will. Thank you father, thank you mother." You reply. Telekinesis, that sounds like fun to you.

Your father then walks up closer to you and with his right index finger, lightly touches your forehead. You can feel a great, and yet soothing surge of energy flow throughout your entire body, right down to your fingertips. The sensation immerses your body, and then it is gone.

"Father, you said that there are 2 gifts, did you not?" You ask, trying not to show too much impatience, but that is a battle that you are obviously losing.

Your father gives out a very deep laugh, clearly amused. "Yes, yes, your second gift, which may become even more useful than the first gift."

Your eyes widen. Something even more useful than telekinesis?

Your father than holds out his fist and upturns it, so that you can see what he is holding in it. In his palm is the most beautiful necklace you have ever seen.

It is a beautiful golden chain that has been very intricately and delicately fashioned, but it is the pendant that really catches your attention. The pendant looks exactly like the design on the kimono that Lady Tomoe had tried unsuccessfully to get you to wear for when your parents came. It is the symbol of the sun and the moon intertwined together so that it looks like one circle with half a sun and half a moon. However, it looks much more beautiful than the design on the kimono, and you have to admit, the kimono was very beautiful, even if you had refused to wear it. The pendant even seems to give off some sort faint golden glow. It is the very essence of beauty to you.

"It's so beautiful! Is it really for me?" You ask almost holding your breath.

"Yes, but remember, it is not simply for looks. There will come a time when this necklace will prove to be of great use to you. You must not lose it." Your father says.

"Carry it with you always, my daughter, and treasure it." Your mother adds.

"Thank you for your immense kindness my parents and rulers." You say with as much respect as ever.

Both your parents smile at you, warm and kind. You find that that sense of security has come back, that sense of family that you love so much.

But then, your father brings out a very serious tone, and speaks firm. Not demanding or cruel, but still nonetheless strong. "Now, we still have some matters to discuss. And they all concern you, Akaria."


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Sudden Changes**

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Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

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You look up at him, calmly yet expectantly. What could your parents have to say to you after giving you these wonderful gifts? You really want to try out your new power of telekinesis, but you sadly have to admit that now is not the greatest time in the world.

"Yes, father? What is it that concerns me that you wish to tell me of?"

It is then that you notice the change in your father's face. A minute or so ago, he was looking at you kindly, warmly, and happily. But now, looking at your father's face, that always seems to look so proud and strong, at least in the few times you ever get to see him, you can actually see how stressed he looks. He looks practically exhausted, which is saying something, since gods and goddesses hardly ever have to sleep. You probably sleep about 10 hours a week, and that is when you are feeling lazy. But now, your father looks like he is incredibly worn out. He also looks, you dont know how to put this, he actually looks a little bit sad.

'But father is hardly ever sad! What's wrong with him?'

You look over to your mother. She doesn't look as tired, but she is also wearing the same look of sadness and loss that your father is wearing.

You know something is up with them.

"Akaria, as gods and goddesses, we are immortal. Yet even immortals do not last forever, do you know that, my daughter?"

'Ok, now father is getting all weird, what's with the sad monologue?' You think. Yet, what he says takes you by surprise, you _had_ thought that immortals could last forever, and that you would live for the rest of eternity.

"No, father, I'm afraid that I did not know that."

"Yes, sadly it is true. An immortals life may last longer than a mortal's life, but that does not mean that even an immortal's life will one day come to an end."

"But how can that be, father? Surely the god and goddess of the Sun and Moon must live forever, since the orbs in the heavens last that long?"

Your mother has the answer to the question this time.

"The gods and goddesses of the Sun and Moon are merely caretakers of the orbs that you see in the sky. Our forefathers were caretakers in their times, and some day, you will be the caretaker of the Sun _and_ the Moon."

"Yes." Your father adds. "Which is why we have come to talk to you on such important matters."

"I still don't understand." You say, and you really don't have the slightest clue what they are implying with this.

Your father seems to try to be avoiding the point, almost as if he was afraid of your reaction.

'But how can that be? Since when has father been afraid of what I would say or think?' You think, almost laughing unconsciously at such a thought.

"The point is that your mother and I have lived through several centuries. We have lived long lives. But we know that we will not be here forever, as I said before. So when the time comes that we must leave this world and enter the netherworld, we want to be able to leave and know that you are well taken care of."

Now you are even more clueless, if that could ever be possible.

"Taken care of? Please, father, I still don't know what you are trying to say with all of this. Is something going to happen?"

"Things happen, my dear daughter." Your mother says. "Things happen everyday, but you must know what to do when they happen."

"Yes, I am aware, mother. But how will I know what to do, if you and father seem so drawn to stay away from the point?"

Your father then coughs very quickly. "Very well, we can no longer keep this at bay. Akaria, tonight will be your last night here at the Temple. In the morning, after the Sun is brought out, you will leave."

Shocked is the only word that can describe what you are feeling. So of course, with a personality like yours, the first thing you have to do is burst out.

"_**LEAVING?!**_ What do you mean, leaving?!"

Your mother still remains calm and collective when she responds to your outburst.

"Leaving, meaning that you will no longer live here at the Temple with the priests and priestesses."

You are starting to get really angry. How can your parents give you such wonderful and amazing birthday presents, and then turn around and say that you are no longer going to live in the one place you have ever known as home? And how can your mother actually be sarcastic at a time like this?

"Mother, I know what leaving means, but what I _don't_ understand is why? How can you turn me out of my home so quickly and in the span of just a few minutes?"

"It is about what I was saying before. When we are gone, we want to be able to know that you are happy and taken care of." Your father says.

"Father, I have just come of age, as you yourself said, I can take care of myself and the others here in the Temple." You plead.

"No. I know that you can, but that is not the choice we have made." Your father replies to your plea. "It will be as we said. You will live in the palace of a personal friend of your mother and I. You will be leaving to go live in the palace of the Lord of the Western Lands. He is a dear friend of ours, Lord Inu No Taisho."


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Partings Go Up In Flames**

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Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

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You can hardly think straight. How can your parents expect you to leave the only home you have ever known? _**AND**_ how did they expect you to leave _**AND**_ go live with people you don't even know? You know that they only have your best interest at heart, but this, this just isn't fair. You are usually very professional with picking your way through situations where you will end up getting what you want, but that was only with the priests and priestesses, you have never tried it on your parents.

Actually, your parents are never around long enough for you to try it on them.

'That must be it!' You think. 'That must be why I feel so angry at them, they're never around long enough to do anything with me. I hardly ever see them, and now they're telling me that my whole life is suddenly going to change!'

You must have developed another one of your glazed, out-of-it, looks, because your mother suddenly walks up to you, looks at you strangely, and yet, sadly for about 5 seconds, and then grabs you in a loving embrace. An embrace that you hardly ever get, unless she or your father are around, which is hardly ever.

"My dear, are you all right?" Your mother asks in a concerned voice. "I know that this may seem hard, but you will soon come to agree to it, and after all, Lord Inu No Taisho is a very kind and caring Demon."

You instantly pull away from your mother and look at her. "Demon? A Demon? I'm going to live with a Demon?"

You feel that this is just a day full of all these "little surprises". You have never lived with a Demon before. Actually, you have probably only seen about 10 Demons in your whole 500 years of life! Every once in a while, a rogue Bear Demon or something will find it's way to the Temple grounds, but the guards would get rid of them easily. You have never seen a Demon Lord before. But that doesn't matter, you still feel betrayed by your parents.

Your father answers. "Yes, you are going to live with Demons. He has a son that is only a few months older than you."

You would not be able to say without lying that you are listening. At this point you don't care what they say anymore. Subconsciously in your mind, you are thinking of a plan. And you are going to go through with it.

However, you have to act as conspicuous as possible. You are going to lead your parents on, and then, you will go through with your plan.

"Very well, my mother and father. In the morning, I will leave." And with that, you calmly walk away. But really, all you want to do is run away like a little child. You want to go run to your room and cry until you can't cry anymore.

But now that you have come of age, you know that that would go against your pride. And you have a great amount of pride, if you do say so yourself. So you calmly leave the Shrine Room.

Lord Taiyo's (your father) P.O.V.:

You watch as your only daughter leaves the Shrine Room, walking away calmly. But you know that inside, she is anything but calm. You know that this will be hard for her to get used to, but it is better than if she stays at the Temple.

Your wife brings you out of your thoughts. "Taiyo, do you think that we should have told her?"

You respond. "No, it is better this way. She does not need to know what will happen, as long as she is safe and happy. We will not need to trouble her with the outcome of all of this."

Your P.O.V.:

You feel that you want to cry but you know that that is not the strong thing to do. But that doesn't stop at least the silent tears from falling. You walk throughout the corridors, going to the residential wing of the Temple. You are going to go to your room and start executing your plan. On the way there, you pass several guards that all stop and quickly bow to you as they pass, but you hardly even care to grace them with a reply. They then look at your face and see the tears falling down and they all have a look of confirmation on their faces.

'Did everyone know of this before I did?' You think, jealous, but more than anything, angry that you are the last to know.

You finally make it to your room. As soon as you enter, you get out a small traveling saddle bag, and start stuffing it with all your most personal and prized possessions.

'If I can't stay here at all,' You think. 'Then I'm going to leave my way!'

However, your packing is interrupted when your door opens.

And then standing in the door frame is none other than...

Master Ryoku.

"Master Ryoku! Master Ryoku, what are you doing here?!"

"I was just passing and I heard some racket going on here, so I figured I should check on the well-being of My Lady." He then smirks and bows deeply to you.

You start blushing, even at a time like this. That always seems to happen when you are around him.

"I was umm...I was..."

"No need to explain My Lady, I believe I understand what you are doing. The only thing I don't understand is why?"

You feel that you instantly want to just burst out and tell him everything, him, your most favorite teacher. You care about him more than any other teacher, even more than a student would care about their Master. You know that you can trust him.

"I am tired of having my life lived for me. If I truly cannot live here, than I will leave and find a place for myself on my own."

"I see." He says. Then he pauses for a second as though thinking something over. Then he continues speaking. "But why run away, you do not know the Lord of the Western Lands. I have heard that he is kind, caring, strong, and brave. You would truly be happy there, so why would you leave the assurance of a happy life, for a life filled with doubt and danger?"

"I just want to see that I can truly take care of myself, without servants, guards, or any other sort of help."

Then Ryoku does something that takes you by surprise, he walks up to you and hugs you strongly and protectively. Your eyes go wide. You can't believe that he is doing this.

"Ryoku?" You say breathlessly.

"I just want you to live on and be happy, no matter what." He says in such a warm voice, a voice that has a sense of caring and compassion. "Promise me that you will go, and at least see the life that your parents chose for you, and then you can choose the path that you will take."

You have to try with all your might to get your mouth to work to produce a response. But you are finally able to get something out, whether or not they are actual words, you can hardly tell.

"I...I..." Well, you can call it one word.

"My Lady, please promise me."

You can't understand this feeling you are suddenly getting, but one thing is true, you really like the feeling. You know that you can not refuse him. So you sigh and say, "I promise."

He pulls away from you and holds your shoulders and smiles at you. "Good. Now, you should rest, and in the morning, you will begin your new life."

You turn your head away from his eyes and release a sigh of defeat. "All right. Thank you, Master Ryoku."

"You do not need to call me Master anymore, for I am no longer your teacher."

"What? You won't be my teacher anymore? Will anyone be coming with me?"

"Yes, Kisa will come with you, but everyone else must stay here and attend to the Temple. That is our responsibility, yours is to go and find a new life in the Western Lands." Then he lightly kisses your forehead and proceeds to the door.

You start and then lightly touch your forehead. "Ryoku!"

He turns and looks at you.

"I...well...thank you."

He simply smiles again and exits your room.

Even after all that has happened to you in the last couple hours, you feel an especially warm feeling inside of you, but you can't explain it. You give up on trying to discover the name of this feeling, so you walk over to your oak wardrobe and pull out a dark blue silk sleeping kimono that is covered in silver stars. You then walk over to your bed and gently lay on it and slowly fall asleep.

It feels like you have been asleep for a good 2 minutes, when all of a sudden, a very scared looking Kisa is shaking you, trying to get you to wake up.

"My Lady, My Lady, please wake up, please!" She sounds like she is in a panic, but she hardly ever gets this upset. You know something is wrong.

"Kisa, Kisa! Calm down! What's wrong?!"

"My Lady, we have to leave now! The Temple is on fire!"


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: The Land Of The West**

* * *

Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

"WHAT!?" You yell. It can hardly register in your brain, could so many unlucky things happen in such a small amount of time? You quickly climb out of your bed, and as you do so, you notice that your hair is still the silver-white it maintains when it is dark out.

'So, it must still be night then.' You think.

"My Lady, the whole of the Temple grounds is being engulfed in flames! We must leave now, there are some guards outside waiting to escort you off the grounds! We must hurry to them!" Kisa says this very quickly, she then sees the saddlebag that you had packed earlier and had failed to unpack. "My Lady, quickly, it seems that you already have some of your belongings packed, so we must leave immediately!" She rushes to the door frame and motions for you to hurry over to her.

You hold on to the pendant that is still around your neck, the one that your parents had just given you only a few hours ago, as you run down the halls and down the stairs to the grounds. It is then that your mind comes to something.

"Wait, my parents, where are they!?"

"My Lady, they can take care of themselves, right now, I must take you to the guards!"

"But..." You respond, you are not about to leave them.

"NO! Please, Akaria, you must come. It is my duty to take care of you."

You then realize the intensity of the situation. 'Kisa has just about never addressed my name without a title! Something horrible must really be happening, something even more horrible than just a fire.' You think, but you keep on running to the front doors with Kisa anyways.

It seems like you have been running for another 500 years of your life. Thoughts are pouring their way out of your head. Where is everybody? You have yet to pass a person, but you figure that everyone else has already left. But where are your parents? You just hope that they have gotten out in time. 'What am I thinking?' You think. 'My parents can teleport like me, they can teleport even farther distances than I can. I'm sure they got out of here easily.'

And with that thought, you go on running even faster, almost to the point where you are using your supernatural speed, but not quite, you could never leave Kisa in this inferno all on her own.

You grab her hand and start to run faster, to the point where it looks like you are simply pulling her along like a ribbon behind you, flowing in the wind of your speed. You begin coughing, you notice that the smoke from the flames has finally started to take an effect on you. You can see yellow-orange flames licking the walls of the Temple, you know that if you are feeling ill from the smoke, then Kisa must be feeling ten times worse.

"Just hold on, Kisa, we're almost outside!" You shout. She is following your guidance, since her eyes are not as keen as yours, so you are the one guiding both of you out. She can't say anything either, she only replies to you with several hoarse coughs.

You begin to really worry. "Damn! Why is this Temple so bloody huge!?" You yell to no one in particular, the thick smoke finding another opportunity to enter your lungs.

"My Lady, what language!" Kisa calls reproachfully.

You can't help but gain the feeling to laugh. 'Kisa must be all right if she can find the air to criticize my use of language!' You think happily, glad that she is still hanging in there.

Then, when you think that you will collapse from all the running and the smoke making its way cruelly into your lungs, you see a sight that could just about make you cry to see. The large, oak, engraved front doors are only a few feet in front of you.

'Oh, thank the heavens!' You yell in your head.

"Kisa, the doors, you're going to be ok! The doors are right there!" You yell to her, even though she's right beside you.

Then when you reach a safe enough distance away from the fire, you let go of Kisa, and she gladly breathes in some fresh air. "Thank you, My Lady! You saved me! How can I ever thank you?" She says, her eyes starting to brim with tears of happiness and admiration.

"It was nothing." You say to her. "But I would like to know where everyone is."

"All the other priests, priestesses, and guards are ok. They made it out here a while ago. Some of the guards are trying to douse the flames, but we've found that for some reason, the flames won't go out." She replies to you.

"Well, then, let's see if the power of a goddess can be enough to extinguish the flames." You say confidently.

You check your hair first, though. It's still a silver-white. 'Good, it's still night, I still have power over water.' You say to yourself.

You walk a little closer to the Temple so that you are in good reach of it. The guards immediately try to stop you.

"My Lady, no! It is too dangerous!" They all yell at you.

You, however, ignore them. You hold your hands out to the sky for a few seconds and concentrate all of your being into doing this. Then you quickly hold your hands out in front of you, and immediately, seemingly out of thin air, great streams of water flow at the Temple, more correctly, at the fire. You maintain your stance for several minutes, but luckily, the fire is dying away as the water makes contact.

"Just needed a goddess to get the job done." You say to yourself, smiling at your stroke of brilliance.

When you can't hold on any longer, you let your arms drop, and you collapse to your knees and reach the cold, hard ground. You make contact with the gleaming grass, shining from the mist of your water. You feel faint and out of breath from the amount of energy it took, but you are not about to show too much weakness to anyone, your pride would never allow such a thing.

Kisa comes running to you, as well as several guards. Then someone else approaches you, and when you see him up close from the light of the dying licks of flame, you manage to get a good glance of his face. It is Ryoku, and he is looking at you astonished.

However, Kisa reaches you first, and her eyes look even more watering, if that could be possible. "My Lady, that was so dangerous, and yet so amazing! Oh, Lady, Akaria!" She then collapses on the ground with you and embraces you tightly, still crying with all her might.

"It's all right, Kisa, I'm fine." You say humorously, trying to calm her down, but it isn't working all that well.

She backs away from you, and then stands up. Then Ryoku walks up to you and holds out his hand, which you eagerly take and he helps you up.

"That was truly awesome, My Lady." He says after you regain your footing. He is smiling at you, a smile that you shyly return, but then his face quickly changes to a stern look.

"But now, we must get you out of this place at once." He says commandingly. "Guards, please escort Lady Akaria to the awaiting carriage that will take her to Lord Inu No Taisho's palace."

Just then, you are brought back to reality. "What!" You exclaim. "How can I still be leaving after all that has happened? Where are my parents, I must see them if I am to leave so suddenly!"

Kisa then walks up to you and bows her head. You see Ryoku and all the guards surrounding you do the same. "My Lady..." She says softly, but her voice drifts, as though she can't finish.

"Yes, Kisa! What is it?!"

"Oh, My Lady, I'm so sorry, but your parents...your parents are dead."

You fall back onto the ground. "Kisa, this is hardly the time to joke, and such a horrible joke too. Now, where are my parents?!" You say, practically shouting. This has to be some sort of sick joke, it just has to be.

But then Ryoku comes and kneels down in front of you, he takes your chin in his hand, so you are looking straight into his eyes.

"My Lady, this is no joke. Someone intentionally came and set the Temple on fire, your parents tried to fight, but they had the ability to make your parents mortal."

"M-m-mor-tal" You stutter, horror-struck, you know what this must mean. There is only one path that this grim conversation can be going.

"Yes." He replies softly. "Then after, they had the opportunity to kill your parents, and that was what they did. But do not worry, we will constantly look for the murderer, or murderers. As priests and priestesses to the Sun and Moon, this is our duty. And now, you too, have a duty."

You open your mouth and gasp. You know what he means by duty. You are now the true Ruler of the Sun and Moon, the one and only Goddess to both heavenly beings.

All the guards around instantly kneel down in front of you. So do all the priests and priestesses, even the ones that had been your teachers for so many years, even old Lady Sitae somehow crouches onto the ground. And then Kisa and Ryoku get down on one knee and do the same. However, Ryoku is the first to get up, and after he does, everyone else does as well.

He then walks up to you. "Now, My Lady, it was your parents wish that you would leave and go to the Westerns Lands when morning came, and we will still fulfill their wish."

You look around, it is indeed getting brighter, and your hair has already changed to black, so you assume that your eyes have also changed from emerald-green to golden-yellow.

You can still hardly think. How can your parents be dead? How? You hardly ever saw them, but still, they were your parents, and you loved them no matter what. You hold onto your necklace and clutch it tightly. 'To honor them, I will never take this necklace off. It will never leave my neck. Also, I will agree to their final request, I will go to the Western Lands.' You tell yourself. You had never even gotten the chance to say goodbye to them, and you know that there would be no bodies to bury, either. Once a God or Goddess died, their bodies disappeared, and they joined the past Gods and Goddesses as the real Sun and Moon. You look over to the East, to where the Sun is now rising.

"Father..." You say softly. You then sigh. "Very well, Ryoku, I will go to the Western Lands, I will go to the palace of Lord Inu No Taisho."

"Very good." He says. "Guards!" He calls. Immediately 4 guards come up and they escort you to a carriage that apparently had been prepared the night before, before the fire, and before your parents...you can't come around to saying it.

You enter the carriage and Kisa then follows you in. You are extremely relieved that at least Kisa, your very best friend is coming with you. But then, Ryoku closes the door and you look at him questioningly.

"Ryoku, aren't you coming?" You ask through the little window that you were seated next to, though you already know the answer, but you don't want to admit it.

"You know I cannot, My Lady, my place is here, and yours is in the West."

Your eyes start to tear, though you can't explain why. What is this feeling that Ryoku always seems to give you when you are around him?

"Ryoku..." You say softly, but he hears you. Then he does something even more amazing than when he had kissed you on the forehead. He takes your face in his hands and he kisses you on the lips. Your eyes seem to go wider than you ever thought they could, but then you slowly close them as the kiss gets deeper. It seems that the kiss lasts throughout eternity, and you so want it to, but it really only lasts a few seconds as Ryoku then pulls away.

"Goodbye, My Lady." He says softly, still holding your face in his hands. "I will miss you." Then he pulls his hand away from your face and walks away from the carriage, and instantly the carriage starts moving. It is too soon for you, you want to stay there, with Ryoku, had have him comfort you forever, but the carriage has already gone quite a distance, until you can't see Ryoku, the other priests and priestesses, or even the Temple anymore.

You turn and look over at Kisa, who is just staring back at you, wanting to say something comforting to you, but she seems too afraid and unable to speak. You just nod to her in understanding of her feelings, and you go back to looking out the window as the scenery calmly passes by. Soon, all your feelings and the scenery smoothly moving by becomes too much for you to bear and you slowly fall into a deep and dreamless sleep.

Soon you are gently being shaken awake. Your black hair smoothly falls over your shoulders and onto your face, but you push it away with a quick shake of your head.

"What, what's going on?" You ask groggily.

"My Lady, we've arrived." Kisa's voice comes to you.

You sit up and look around, the lands hardly look different from the Temple grounds, but you know that they can never be the same. That land that you had just left held too many memories, memories that could never be replaced here. There is a difference, though. You look out your window and see an amazing palace, looking as though it can touch the sky if it so desires to. It is very grand and luxurious, just like the Temple, except this palace looks more residential, the Temple had always been more symbolic and purposeful. Not really looking as though anyone ever lived there at all.

You tilt your head upwards to take in the full extent of this palace, it is indeed amazing. You look up to a window on the second floor and you think you see someone looking down at you. You blink and then all you see in that window is a stream of what you think to be long silver-white hair flowing and then disappearing behind the window curtain. Then all you can see in the window is the soft white curtain rippling as though someone has just rushed past it.

'So, someone _was_ there.' You think as though confirming that you weren't really just seeing things.

But then an unfamiliar voice comes, making you start. And you can tell from the volume of the voice that the speaker is right next to you. "Ah, dear Akaria, it is very good to meet you at last, especially after all that just recently happened."

You look at the owner of the deep, strong voice that so reminds you of your father and the voice that you will never hear again. You have to crane your neck once again to just look at this man, just like you had when you were trying to stare at the top of the palace. This man is quite tall.

You just look at him and stare. He has silver-white hair, just like the color yours was at night and he has a deep and wide purple stripe running across each cheek. He has very heavy armor, with 2 swords strapped to his waist. 'That's odd.' You think. He also has a cape of some sort of fur, but you can't tell what kind it is. You can't think of anything to say to him so you continue to just look at him, your mouth slightly agape. You have a feeling that you look slightly stupid because he just looks down at you and then smiles warmly, then he lets out a little chuckle. You can't stand any sound of laughter, though, after what had happened last night. But his laughter has this sense of security and warmth, and even though you can't believe that anyone can laugh now, of all times, you can't help but give a tiny smile back.

"Forgive me, little one. Of course you would not know who I am, for we have never met. I have been a friend of your parents for many, many years. I am Lord Inu No Taisho, and welcome to the Western Lands at last."


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Falling Into Dreams**

* * *

Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

You continue to look up at Inu No Taisho, you had expected nothing less of him being the Lord of this castle from the way he is dressed with all the strong (and most likely heavy) armor. You also see his golden-yellow eyes looking down at you with a sense of caring, and you think...maybe pity? But then again, why wouldn't he pity you? You had just lost your parents, your _immortal_ parents, by someone who had seemingly gotten around that little fact and had managed to murder them. So why wouldn't there be pity in his golden eyes?

He then comes closer to you and embraces you in a fatherly hug. You are a little taken aback by this sudden movement, but you can't take it, your eyes immediately start to tear as you feel yourself truly crying over your parents for the first time.

It seems that all it took for the fact that your parents were gone to sink in is a hug from this man that you have just met.

He pulls away and looks at you and wipes away your tears with his thumb, like a father comforting his daughter. "I know, my child, it is perfectly all right to cry, it shows that all living creatures are not without flaws and emotions. You have just lost 2 people whom were very dear to you, it is understandable to cry."

You look at him, he looks slightly blurred from the shining tears in your eyes that are getting ready to fall, but you still manage to give a small smile to him in thanks for those kind words. You may have only met him a few minutes ago, but you know that you like this man very much. Those words were just about the kindest words that anyone has said to you after the fire. Hell, they were just about the _only_ words that anyone had said to you. No one else had seemed to know how to comfort you.

'No one else seemed to want to comfort me.' You think with a little bit of anger and hurt in your mind.

However much you want to stay in this man's presence, though, you can't help but let out a slight yawn. Everything had happened too fast for you to really absorb, and all this physical as well as emotional stress is really taking its toll on you. 'Man, most of the time I hardly ever need this much sleep.' You think.

No matter how much you work to hide your yawn, Inu No Taisho's perceptive eyes manage to see it. He smiles warmly at you.

"Come." He says. "I shall have someone accompany you to a room where you will now stay."

You bow to him. "Thank you, My Lord."

He smiles at you again and then walks back through the Main Gates and disappears behind them.

Immediately, a team of guards comes and surrounds you and Kisa. Then one comes up to you, bows in several jerkish movements that you consider to be the way all soldiers bow, and says. "My Lady, come. We will take you to your chambers."

The guards form a circle around you and as you start walking behind this one soldier, all the other soldiers start walking in one same rhythm.

You can't help but look at them with a weird look on your face. 'I wonder what's up with all this unnecessary protection.' You think, but you don't say anything of it, you just want to sleep.

You are so tired that you can hardly make out the soldier in front of you, but you do manage to take in some of the palace's grandeur.

It is truly a sight to behold. There are gilded corridors and pathways and hallways, and every few feet there is an elegant torch held up in a marble holder that goes exceedingly well with the marble of the whole palace. There are also brilliant paintings and portraits of different demons, in human and demon form. You can tell that they have to be dog demons, most likely past Lords and Ladies of the Western Lands. Also, every few feet, placed right below each portrait, is a small column, about 3 feet tall that holds a different bust or statue of some demon.

But all in all, you are too tired to look at everything explicitly. After all, this place will most likely be your home for the rest of your very long life, you'll have plenty of opportunities to look at every piece of art.

'Several times over, in fact.' You think to yourself.

Finally, after completing the flight of stairs up to the second floor, you come to a polished oak wood door. You manage to get a quick glance at the door before the guard opens it, and you notice that it has a beautiful, yet terrifying Dog Demon with its jaws opened wide, howling at a moon that is only a short distance above it's head, indicating that it is of an incomprehensible size.

"Here you are, My Lady. I hope that you will be happy here." The main guard says after the long silence from the journey up to your new room.

"Thank you, sir." You say after you walk in and turn to face him. He raises his right hand and hits it against his chest as a salute to you. Then he marches off and the other guards instantly march after him in that same rhythm, like they have absolutely no personalities to speak of, in your opinion.

After they leave, you get a good look at your new room. You instantly start to tear up again. The bed is a sky blue canopy bed with sky blue silk drapes gracefully falling over the bed, almost like a waterfall. The walls also have the same light blue color.

A single tear finally makes its way down your face as you keep staring at the room in front of you. 'It looks just like my room!' You think. It instantly brings you back to thinking about the room you had once had, and how that room was now nothing more than ashes blowing in the wind.

You let your head hang down, and your now silver hair falls past your shoulders, indicating that it is indeed, finally night. You simply proceed to the bed without a second thought and you lay down on it, not bothering to change into another kimono, and not even bothering to pull the bed sheets over you, you just close your eyes and fall asleep, with silent tears still streaming from your eyes, regardless...

You are running down a dirt path in a lush green forest that you have never seen before. It is amazingly quiet though, even for a forest. All you hear are your feet crunching on the grass and the fallen leaves. You are running with all your might, from who or possibly _what_, you don't have a clue. You only know that you have to run down this path, that this is the only way that you will be safe.

Then all of a sudden, the green and life-filled forest changes into a dead and bleak forest, incapable of sustaining any life whatsoever. It is then that you come to a fork in your path. Each way looks exactly the same, you don't know which path to take.

Then all of a sudden, on the right path, you see, of all people, Ryoku appear. He is standing and smiling warmly at you, gesturing for you to come to him. You are just about to run to him, happy to be able to embrace him again, but you stop. You hesitate, something in you is telling you that you should not take this path. Something inside of you is telling you that you should go the other way, that you should go to the left.

'But why? Why left?' You think, totally confused as to why you would think that, when Ryoku is standing right there, waiting for you to come to him.

But then, on the left path, someone else appears. However, they are slightly blurry, you can't make this person out. However, you can tell that it is a man. He has long silver-white hair, like yours and he is wearing some sort of white, flowing kimono, you can't make out the details. He looks almost angelic from what you can make out of him.

That little voice once again enters your mind and is telling you that you should take this path, and go to this man.

'But I have no idea who he even is. Wouldn't it be safer to go to Ryoku?' You think, trying to argue with yourself.

But still, you have this strange urging that the left path is the path to take, and when you can't resist the urge any longer you find yourself starting to walk over to this unknown man.

You barely take 2 steps to this unknown man though, when all of a sudden, the very ground you are standing on starts to crack and there is a deep fissure with you falling through it. You of course, do the obvious thing, and start screaming and waving your hands over your head trying to grab something, _anything_ that can save you. But all you can grasp is air, and you fall into a dark oblivion, still screaming for someone to save you...

You scream your hardest and wake up with a jerk. You are sweating bullets and you are shivering as if you are freezing.

Immediately, the door that leads to Kisa's smaller chamber that is conjoined with yours bursts open and Kisa comes running to you, her eyes wide and frantic.

"My Lady, what happened!? You look absolutely terrified!" She says in one deep breath.

You have certainly done a lot of crying in the last few hours but you still have several tears left in you. You grab Kisa and hug her as tight as you can, crying on her shoulder, not wanting to be left alone.

"Kisa! It was so horrible! I was running and then I was falling and then I was in darkness, and no one was there and...Kisa!" You cry out as a fresh set of tears now pour from your still emerald eyes and your silver hair falls onto Kisa and she simply strokes it in a friendly way, trying to comfort you.

"Shh...It's all right, My Lady, it was nothing more than a dream. It was all a dream."

"But it felt so real." You whisper, afraid to say it any louder.

"Dreams often feel real, but they are just dreams." She says soothingly. It is then that you really realize how lucky you are that you still at least have Kisa with you. You may have been born several years, several centuries really, before her, but you still feel as though she is an older sister to you. Always there for you, no matter what.

You calm down, and the tears slowly stop and you look at Kisa's calm and caring face.

"Thank you Kisa." You say a little over a whisper.

"For what, My Lady?"

"I may have never said it before, Kisa, but I see you as a dear sister to me, and a very good friend. So I just wanted to, well, say, thank you, for everything."

She smiles at you, showing all of her beautiful, gleaming white teeth. "I will always be here for you, My Lady. I see you as a very good friend too."

Then she gets up off your bed and goes back into her conjoining chamber.

You lie back down and gently place your head on your soft pillow. You then remember what Kisa said. "It was all a dream." She had said.

'But was it really just a dream?' You think, unsure, and still thinking about all that had happened in your dream and who that man was. That man that you had so been drawn to.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Conversations**

* * *

Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

You slowly open your eyes because you feel the warm, glowing rays of the sun beating gently upon your face. You must have fallen asleep still thinking about your dream, but you had no other dreams after that last night. You slowly rise up from your bed, your now jet black hair draping smoothly over your shoulders. You look out of your beautiful gilded window and sigh, looking outside to see the peaceful scenery that is so close to you, but when you see the sun, your thoughts revert to scenes of a blazing fire and your home turning to ashes.

You shake your head, hoping that doing so will throw these thoughts out of your head. 'I just have to let it go.' You think. 'They would want me to go on and not dwell on it.'

Just then, Kisa comes in through the door to her room. She glances at you, and when she notices that you are awake, she places the blood red kimono that she's holding on your bed and walks over to you, a little hesitantly.

You notice this and wonder why she is walking so cautiously over to you. "Kisa, what's the matter?"

"Nothing, My Lady, I was just wondering if you are all right now."

You look at her kind face; you are so happy that she is still with you. You nod and give her a small smile. "Mmhmm. I'm all right, everything is going to be fine, Kisa. You and I will be fine here."

You then walk over to the bed and pick up the kimono and black obi that she had placed on the bed, you know that she had gotten it out for you. You walk behind the folding changing screen, take off your sleeping kimono and let it fall to the floor. You then put on the kimono and tie the obi and come back out from behind the screen. It is royal purple with beautiful and delicate soft pink cherry blossoms painted intricately with minute detail. Kisa has already left, probably to rest, but you are ok with that. She has worked so hard these last couple days, and it isn't bad to be on your own every once in a while. Besides, you hadn't really gotten a good look at the details of the palace last night; you had been too tired to really care, so this time, you're going to get a good look at everything you can. You walk out of the oak doors to your room and start on your exploring.

You don't know where to start, so you just pick the first hallway you see. For the next couple of minutes you walk down the beautiful marble hallway, complete with a blood-red, silk carpet that matches your kimono so well, you almost seem to disappear against it.

You look at all the paintings of the now long gone demons; they all wear stern faces, like they don't know any sort of happiness. Their eyes almost seem to say that you never do anything correctly. In a way, their faces remind you of Lady Sitae.

You shake your head fervently. 'I have to get over the Temple, that part of my life is behind me now.' And you walk away from the portraits, trying to find something else that will take your mind off things.

You find another hallway that looks much like the one you had just left, but this one seems different. There is only one doorway in this corridor. You are absentmindedly walking down the hallway, looking at one painting in particular of one very strict looking demoness, that you don't notice that you have just walked into someone. Their chest is so hard and strong that you crash into them and fall down on your back. You sit up and scrunch your face from the pain as you try to rub your back. You are ready to tell this person off for running into you, even though you ran into them, but then you hear a laugh. The same laugh you had heard last night.

You quickly stand up and look into the eyes of Inu No Taisho. 'Oh, crap!' You think. However, when you hear that he is still laughing, you calm down a little. But you still manage to produce your famous blush.

"My Lord, forgive me. I did not see where I was going."

He looks at you and gives you another fatherly smile. "It is all right my dear, no harm has been done. So, what do you think of my palace." He says.

"It is very beautiful, My Lord." You say quietly, your head still hanging from embarrassment because now you notice that there are 2 guards on either side of Inu No Taisho, so now you know that you had had an audience to witness your little moment.

"Thank you, my dear. But anyways, I was going to seek you out later today, but now that I have found you, I feel that now is the perfect time to talk to you."

"Talk to me, My Lord? About what?" You ask.

He continues, knowing that he has your attention and curiosity. "You may or may not be aware that I have a son, am I correct?" He asks you.

"Yes, My Lord. I am aware." You reply questioningly. 'But so what?' You think. 'Why does he need to tell me this? It's not like I care, he's probably some spoiled palace brat that thinks he owns the world.' You think to yourself, so as not to offend your host that is standing in front of you.

"Yes." He says. "My son is only slightly older than you, so of course, you know that that means that he came of age only a few months ago, as you yourself recently have."

You nod. 'What's he getting at?' You think.

"For Demons, though, it is a tradition to host a Presentation Ball for the one that has come of age. However, during that time when my son did come of age, there was a war that was ravaging our lands. We have had to postpone it until now. I know that you have only recently arrived, but it would be a pleasure to have you there." He says kindly.

'So that's where this was going.' You think. You really have no interest to go to such a thing, but you know that it would be incredibly offensive, should you refuse. After all, Inu No Taisho was allowing you to live here. You feel the wonderful feeling called a conscience work its way into your head, and you know that you must comply.

"Thank you, My Lord. I would be honored to attend." You say, working your hardest to hide the sarcasm just wanting to explode from your mouth.

It seems that he doesn't pick up your sarcasm, though, because he smiles down at you. "Wonderful! I will see you tonight, then, my dear." And with that, he and his guards walk away down the path you had taken to get here and they disappear from view.

'Oh, great' You think. 'Now look what you have gotten me into, you stupid conscience!' You scream in your head.

"Well, I guess I had better tell Kisa, then." You say.

Luckily, you hadn't gotten too far away from your room, so by some miracle, you are able to remember the way to your room. You enter the room and walk over to Kisa's door.

"Kisa! Guess what? I get to go to a Ball!" You call to her sarcastically.

You see her sitting over by her window, staring out. She, unlike Inu No Taisho, has known you for some time, so she can pick up the sarcasm in your voice.

"Well, you don't seem all that excited about it, My Lady." She says with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But I couldn't refuse." You say. "Damn kindness." You add quietly, so Kisa doesn't hear you. Luckily she doesn't. "So I was wondering if you could help me find something to wear." You ask her.

She smiles wide. "I know." She says, she then rushes past you and goes to a small dresser beside her bed. She opens the bottom drawer and pulls out a vaguely familiar kimono. Very familiar in fact, Lady Tomoe had tried incredibly hard to get you to wear it a couple days ago.

"Kisa!? Is this...?" You ask her.

She smiles and nods her head.

"But how were you able to get it?" You ask, amazed that she had had the time to get it during a blazing fire.

"It was once your mother's, My Lady. I knew the importance it had for her, and the importance I hope it has for you. I managed to retrieve it before the fire got too unbearable." She says.

"How important can a kimono be for you to risk your life for it? It is after all, just a kimono." You say.

"My Lady! This kimono has been handed down to Celestial Goddesses for thousands of years!" She says reproachfully, amazed that you don't know that.

"Oh." You say. "Well, I guess it will work." You say, feeling the soft silk material with your fingers, waiting for evening to come.

'Let's just see how these demons have a ball.' You think.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Presentations: The One Called Sesshomaru**

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Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

You still have a couple hours until you have to go down to the Hall. You would love to go outside and just do something, anything, other than be stuck inside, listening to the commotion the servants are making downstairs getting ready for the Ball. However, Kisa is not about to give you that option. She insists that you must start to get ready in order to look acceptable and make it on time.

"But Kisa!" You argue. "The Ball is not for a few more hours! How long could it possibly take to put on a kimono?"

"My Lady, this Ball must be very important, and there will be many important aristocrats attending! You must look your best! And besides, you are not going to wear just a kimono; I want you to look breathtaking! Now go and take a bath, My Lady, and I will prepare everything else."

"What else can there be!?" You yell in amazement. But she just ushers you to the bathroom and closes the door on you, leaving you staring at the dark oak door. Now taking a bath has become your only option.

You can already feel the warmth of steam creeping up your body; Kisa must have already drawn the bath for you. You turn around and come to see a beautiful pool of elegant white marble, sunk into the ground, steam lazily rising into the air. There are petals from roses and cherry blossoms floating gently on the surface of the water. You can't help but smile gleefully at the amazing pool of pure water. Back at the Temple, you had never really thought about bathing in such a manner. You bathed, sure, but you were more of the athletic type, so simple water was good enough for you on most occasions.

You gently take off the kimono you had been wearing for only a few hours and let it drop at the side of the pool. You slowly maneuver yourself into the water, wary of entering too quickly. When you feel that the water has taken to you, you sink in all the way and let out a soft sigh.

'I wonder why I never did this back at the Temple.' You think to yourself. 'It's wonderful!' You let your head rest on the edge of the pool and you begin to feel that the alluring warmth of the water has become too much for you, and so you quickly doze off...

"My Lady! My Lady! Wake up! You can't sit in this heat forever!" Kisa's voice immediately wakes you up; she is standing right behind you.

"Oops! Kisa, I'm sorry! I fell asleep!" You apologize.

"I can see that My Lady, but we can't worry about that now! We must hurry; the Ball begins in an hour! You've been sleeping all this time!"

"Oh no!" You yell and quickly grab the towel that Kisa is holding. You both hurry into your room and you dry yourself off and at the same time grab the royal purple kimono that you are to wear and run behind the changing screen. You allow the towel to fall and you gently, but quickly, pull on the kimono. When you are finished tying the golden obi around your waist, you walk over to Kisa. She is running around, finding whatever it is that she wants you to put on.

"I guess it's a good thing you had me take a bath so many hours before the Ball." You say with a guilty laugh.

"Yes. See, I can be right at times." Kisa replies, still moving around your room, gathering all sorts of bowls and jars and little wooden boxes that you have never seen before.

"Kisa? What are those jars? And what's in them?" You ask her.

"Some of the Lord's servants brought them here while you were sleeping in the bath. They are for you to use, you'll see what they are." Is the only answer she gives you.

She then walks you over to a chair where you sit, giving her a look that says "what the hell are you going to do to me?"

She reads your face and says "Just sit still, My Lady. We only have a short amount of time now, so I ask you to sit still."

You just nod to her, but your eyebrows furrow and your eyes look at her warily. But you close your eyes and allow her to do whatever she has planned.

"There, My Lady! You look wonderful!" She says as she hands you a small mirror so you can look at yourself.

Your mouth drops. Your face has been powdered, your lips are rose-red, and you have been showered in beautiful diamonds that sparkle in the light with any sudden movement you make. There is a diamond necklace that rests on your collarbone, and diamonds that make up a sort of head-dress that accentuate your gracefully pointed ears and your midnight black hair.

"Wow! The Lord certainly is generous to his guests!" You say to Kisa with a small laugh.

She smiles, but merely says "My Lady, you must go down to the Hall now! The Ball is going to start soon!"

You sigh. You feel that getting ready for the Ball will have been ten times more fun than what you have to look forward to for the rest of the evening. "I guess you're right." You say. "Thanks for helping me, Kisa."

"You're welcome, My Lady. Now hurry, you can't be late!" She says. And with that, you close your bedroom door and walk down the gilded corridor, down the stairs, and follow the amazingly vociferous music coming from what you can only assume to be the Hall.

You quietly enter the Hall and see that there is already quite a number of people there as it is. There are men, demons really, in their best armor, sword included, and women, demonesses, that look stunning in amazing kimonos and elaborate hair styles. You feel so out of place, and even commonplace compared to all these demons. First of all, they are all demons, and second, they all appear to be much older than you, and they most likely are. You may be 500, but you have a feeling that these demons and demonesses are so much older.

'These must all be Inu No Taisho's friends and allies.' You think.

Just then, the only familiar face you know walks up to you. You breathe a sigh of relief, hopefully Inu No Taisho can at least get you into a more comfortable setting for you to survive the night.

"Ah, Akaria, there you are, my child! It is wonderful that you came!" Lord Inu No Taisho says to you in a jovial manner.

"Yes, My Lord, but..." You hesitate, you really don't want to offend him, but you really don't want to be here, sitting doing absolutely nothing.

He seems to catch the hint. "Oh, yes, of course!" He says with a hearty laugh. "We can't have you sitting on your own this whole time! Now if only I could find my son, it's unbelievable, this is _his_ Ball and I can't locate him anywhere! Well, let's just have you sit here, I'm sure Sesshomaru will turn up some time." He then leads you to a corner table where you then sit on one of the small cushions.

"There you go, my dear. I will return shortly, but I must attend to the arriving guests."

You nod in understanding and he walks off, leaving you there feeling stupid with nothing to do.

You see that there is some food on the table, though. You find it surprising, though, since you think that demons must not eat, like you do not need to eat.

'It must just be here for show.' You think. However, you look at the fruits and the meat, which you can't tell from what sort of animal it came from and you decide to content yourself with just an apple. You chew slowly on it and begin to look around again at these demons, but your eyes fall on to the door frame, or more so, outside the door frame. The door leads outside to the gardens and as you focus your eyes you see something, or more so, _someone_ out there, sitting beside a tree.

Well, you aren't exactly having the time of your life inside, listening to these demons talk about wars and lands, or the demonesses talking about senseless gossip, so you figure that you should go talk to this person and ask why they think that they are so special to be exempt from listening to this torture.

You silently walk outside, but you don't know why you're walking so quietly, it's not exactly like you'll be missed in there. You make it to this person and finally see them in the light pouring out from the Hall. It is a man the most beautiful man you have ever seen. He has beautiful silver-white hair, not unlike your own, that cascades down his back, it is longer than yours, falling nearly to his knees. He has 2 odd purple-pink stripes running down each cheek and along each wrist. He is also wearing a snow white kimono that has a red design on his shoulder and an odd sort of armor with some type of fur that circles his right shoulder. He also has a katana strapped to his waist. His eyes are closed, almost like he is bathing in the light. He is unlike anything other being you have seen in your whole life.

You can't help but look at him in fascination, but you nearly fly out of your skin when he takes notice of your presence.

"What do you want, wench?" He asks, jerking his head to you and staring at you with piercing golden eyes.

Well, your gaping soon turns to anger at the 'wench' remark, but you breathe heavily to yourself and walk up to him. "Nothing, I was just wondering why you are out here when everyone is inside. Do you not want to see the Lord's son? Are you not a friend of his?"

He snorts at your questions and replies. "You must be clueless. I _am_ the Lord's son."

Your mouth could have dropped a good five feet if it wasn't blocked by your chin. "Wait, you're his son, you're Sesshomaru!?"

"That is Lord Sesshomaru to you, and yes I am his son, what of it, wench?"

After the second time of being called a wench, you know that breathing to calm yourself wasn't going to work, and it doesn't, your mouth just loves to get its way.

"Now wait a second, I have a name you know, and it's not wench! It's Akaria!" You yell at him.

"Heh. So you're that goddess that my father was weak enough to take under his care. It seems my father gets weaker and weaker as time goes by." He says, you can tell that he is talking to himself, rather than to you. It's almost like he doesn't really care whether you are there or not.

"Your father weak? Well, only if being weak means that he has better manners than his son, than I guess he is weak!" You throw at him, your mouth is on a roll now.

"You wench, are you saying that I am less than him?!" He says to you, and you can hear a low growl escape his lips at the same time.

Now you know that things have gotten out of hand and you think things through one more time, this is this guy's Ball, in his father's palace, which you are living in now, so you know that you have to be on this guy's good side, whether you like it or not. You breathe heavily and sigh, then you walk closer to him and sit next to him. The second you do, the sun completely vanishes and the moon begins to rise, and with that your hair changes to match that of Sesshomaru's. It falls silkily over your shoulders as you sit beside him.

"Look, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make anything out of what I said." You say, kindly to him.

He just snorts and turns his head away from you, as if doing so will make you disappear.

You sigh and blow some loose hair out of your face in frustration and try your attempt at peace making again. "Look, I am sorry, sometimes my mouth runs away with me, and I can't control it, but I am sorry, so can we start over? My name is Akaria." You say cheerfully.

He just stares at you like you are the ugliest thing that ever lived.

"Well, don't rush your response." You say sarcastically.

"Why must you insist on pestering me so, woman?" He merely says.

"Well, it's a step above wench, I guess. But I'm not trying to pester you, I just saw that you were out here all alone, and I was wondering why, and I'm even more confused now, seeing as how this is your Ball." You say, shrugging your shoulders.

"This Ball is nothing but foolish antics. Just a way for my father's allies to flaunt their wealth in front of each other."

"Well, I can't say I disagree, but still..." You drift off, but you change the subject. "Anyways, you said your father was getting weaker by allowing me to live here? What makes him so weak in the first place?" You ask him.

He again produces another snort to you and says "My father is constantly getting more compassionate to others, especially those that aren't demons."

That makes you feel even more out of place but you're getting some words out of him so you continue the conversation.

"I still don't understand what you mean." You say.

He sighs, he seems reluctant to tell you, but by some miracle he does. "My mother died giving birth to me, and now my father has found another mate in a human woman."

"What's wrong with that?" You ask, but as soon as you ask it, he gives you such a look that you know that you could not have asked a stupider question. You feel that you have pushed his buttons enough, so you get up and brush yourself off. You let out a long sigh and turn to look down at him as he is still sitting. "Well, it was nice to talk to you, _Lord _Sesshomaru." You say, with a playful accent of sarcasm on the 'Lord'.

He lets out a low growl but merely leans his head against the tree and closes his eyes, resuming the position he had before you had walked to him. You roll your eyes and walk away, the music and talking has died down, so you figure that the Ball must just about be over, you hadn't realized how long you had really been talking to Sesshomaru, if you could call it talking, it was mostly you trying to get some words out of him, but you hadn't thought that it had taken that long.

'It's also funny how they didn't seem to realize that Sesshomaru wasn't at his own Ball.' You think with a small laugh, but you figure that demons are just like that.

You continue to slowly walk away from the tree, and head inside, but you can't help feeling that there is a set of golden yellow eyes watching you.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Meeting A Human: The Woman Called Izayoi**

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Ah, well, this is Chapter 10! I know I haven't been saying much, I'm just trying to post all these as fast as I can since I already have Chapter 45 up on Quizilla and everything. But I hope you're enjoying it so far! Please let me know, if you have the time!

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Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

You make it up to your room, the white glowing beams from the moon guiding your path. When you walk in the first thing you see is Kisa gently sleeping on your bed, obviously waiting for you to come back from the Ball. You both always loved to talk about anything exciting that happened to either one of you.

You walk up to the edge of your bed and sit down, then you lightly tap Kisa, shaking her slightly to get her awake.

She groans a little, apparently she had been in one heck of a deep sleep, then she turns around and looks at you. She instantly sits up, fully awake in such a short amount of time.

"My Lady, you're back! How was it? Was it amazing?" She bombards you with her curiosity.

You just laugh at her as her eyes are wide with inquisitiveness. "Trust me, Kisa, you didn't miss much at all. Actually, I hardly spent that much time in the Hall at all." You say reminiscing about all that had happened in those few hours.

Kisa looks at you strangely, "What do you mean, My Lady? You didn't not go to the Ball, did you?"

"No, no, I went, but I was really outside for most of it."

"Why were you outside?" She asks, impatient with your secretiveness.

"Well, I finally met Lord Inu No Taisho's son." You say bluntly.

"Oh, you did, My Lady!? I hear that he is of amazing beauty, I have heard that he is a very handsome man!" She says, once again interested in what you have to say.

"Oh, he was very handsome, I'll admit that much, but that was just about his only good feature. He's arrogant, selfish, and hates anything that isn't demon, especially humans." You say with distaste. But you gasp, you had practically forgotten that Kisa is indeed, a human. When you were with Kisa, she was your best friend, it didn't matter that you were an immortal goddess and she was a mortal human. It seems that all it took to point this difference to you was one arrogant Lord Sesshomaru.

"Oh, Kisa, I'm sorry, but don't worry, I won't let him hurt you." You say quickly to make up for your lack of attention to the facts.

Kisa smiles weakly at you. "It's all right, My Lady, but how could you ever discern this much when you only just met Lord Sesshomaru? Can you be sure that those are his true feelings?" She asks.

"I guess not, but we'll be living here for a long time, now. I guess we have plenty of time to figure out the way his mind works. But now, it's really late and I'm tired. And judging by the way you were collapsed on my bed, I'm guessing you were too, Kisa. Besides, I can't take this powder on my face for one more minute." You say jokingly.

"Oh, of course, My Lady! Goodnight." Kisa says, then she quickly departs to her room next to yours, leaving you in your room alone.

You walk into your bathroom and wash your face of the powder from the water in a large wooden basin, decorated with little stars around the rim. When you are sure that there is no more of that uncomfortable powder, you walk out of your bathroom and back into your room. 'I don't know how those women can survive in that powder! And they seem to wear it all the time!' You think. But you walk out and see a knee-length sleeping kimono that Kisa left out for you, it is green with pretty little yellow flowers on the bottom and on the edges of the sleeves.

Since no one is around, you don't bother to go behind the changing screen. You untie the golden obi and let your mother's kimono fall to the floor. You then put on the sleeping kimono and then you fold your mother's kimono and gently place it on your oak dresser.

Before you go to bed, though, you walk up to your window and pull back the soft white curtain that leads to the balcony. You look up to the sky and see the shining silver moon. You then close the curtain and without any other thoughts, you collapse on your bed, where you hug your pillow tightly and slowly drift to sleep...

You're in darkness, you don't know where to go or where you should be. All you know is that you are in a black oblivion, a seemingly endless void surrounding you. Then all of a sudden, a single light showers down on you, nearly blinding you, making your pupils dilate from the sudden light. But that is nearly as bad as the shock that comes right after.

There they are, you see them...your parents are standing a mere 20 feet away from you. But they don't seem to notice that you are right behind them. Their backs are to you, but you know that it's them. Your father's shoulder length hair and gleaming armor, your mother's beautiful silver hair falling down her back.

Your eyes start to gleam from the tears, you know it's them, but you never thought that you would see them again. "Mother! Father!" You call out to them extending your hand as you run out to reach them, to embrace them one more time.

They turn around and see you, and they smile warmly at you, waiting for you to reach them. It seems that everything is moving in slow motion, you're trying your hardest to reach, tears flying behind you, and when it seems that you can just about touch them again an enormous fire erupts around them, shielding them from your view. You stop in your tracks, you can't believe that you might lose them again.

"Mother! Father! Don't go! Don't leave me again!" You scream, but it doesn't do any good, the fire just grows greater and fiercer, and then it slowly fades away and vanishes, leaving you alone in the still silence once again.

You can't take the thought of them leaving you again, you fall to your knees and you cry. You don't care anymore, you just want to be with them, you feel that there is nothing in the world that can save you from this pain. But then another light appears, even brighter than the one shining down on you. You can feel the heat from the light and you can see that it is intense as it glows through your closed eyes. But then a shadow engulfs you, as if there is someone standing over you. Your eyes shoot open and you look up at the person blocking you from the light. And who do you see, but of all people, you see Sesshomaru standing over you, looking down at your miserable form.

You rub your eyes, just to make sure that your tears and pain aren't playing tricks on you, but sure enough, there is Sesshomaru, looking at you with a sense of pity and almost kindness, 2 emotions that you thought you would never see in him. He holds out his hand to you, to help you up, and regardless of your amazement of him being here with you, you reach out to take it...

You jump awake, the sun is already out, and your hair is already black, but drenched in sweat, as is the rest of your body. You can feel the salty sweat falling in droplets down you goose-bump covered skin. Your eyes are wide and glassy, you can't believe the dream you just had.

"What is with all these dreams?" You say out loud to yourself. "And what on Earth was Sesshomaru doing in my dream?"

Then something dawns on you. "My other dream, that was him too! But how could he have been in _that_ dream too, it was before I had even met him!" The instant you start thinking about Sesshomaru, your necklace, that you are still wearing starts to glow a beautiful golden white glow. You stare at it and hold it in your hands, the glow is amazing, like the glow of the most precious gem. You clutch the pendant tightly in your fist, and slowly, the light begins to fade, and your necklace becomes normal once again.

You blink a couple times and shake your head furiously, dismissing the fantasies going through your head. "They are just dreams, nothing more." You say, and you nod your head, confirming that fact.

You then get out of bed and walk to your dresser and pull out an aqua blue kimono with red and orange dragons designs and a deep red obi. You put that on and take an ivory brush and quickly run it through your hair, just to tame the loose ends. You then but the brush down on the dresser and you see a bowl of fruits, most likely from Kisa. As a goddess, you didn't need to eat often, unlike humans, but still, eating sometimes didn't hurt. You take an apple and walk out of your room, you feel that some fresh air from the garden will do you some good, and help get your mind off that ridiculous dream.

You find your way down stairs to the garden, totally amazing yourself that you keep on finding your way around the place without getting lost, and you come to a little pond. The water is a clear, fresh blue, and there are little lily pads with precious white lilies. You can also see the orange and scarlet koi fish swimming gracefully in the water. You revel in the tranquility of the scenery, but you are not the only one basking in the beauty.

You look over to the other side of the pond and you see a woman, a very beautiful woman. She is wearing a light pink layered kimono with blue and green designs, and she has smooth black hair that encompasses her figure, her hair falling down, you're sure to her feet when she's standing. But right now she is sitting, looking down into the water, she has a look of sadness on her beautiful face. She looks up and notices you, and she gives you a small, yet warm and caring smile. You give her one back, and you get up and walk up to her, your curiosity getting the better of you. Curiosity, because you realize that this woman is giving off the aura of a human, and you are surprised to see a human woman here, of all places.

You come up beside her and sit next to her, looking at her quizzically, but she smiles at you. And then she speaks, her voice soft and gentle, kind and compassionate.

"You must be Akaria, Inu No Taisho has told me about you."

"You know Inu No Taisho? But how, you're a human?" You say blindly.

She smiles at you again, and it comes to you. "What? You're Inu No Taisho's mate? You're the human mate that Sesshomaru told me about?"

She smiles again, but this one looks a little scared when you say Sesshomaru's name. "Sesshomaru is not fond of me, but yes, I am Inu No Taisho's mate."

"But how can he not like you? There is nothing wrong with you!" You say. You have only just met this woman, but you know that she is one of the most genuine people you have ever seen.

"Thank you, my dear, but that is how many demons are. They do not like anyone that is not a demon, like them."

Your mind goes back to Sesshomaru and what he had said to you about his father being weak and mating with a human. You roll your eyes, agreeing with this woman completely.

"By the way, you know my name, but I don't know yours. I should know the name of my hostess." You say.

"Oh, forgive me, my name is Izayoi, and I am not your hostess, I am staying here, like you, except I am here only temporarily." She says.

"You don't live here?! But surely Inu No Taisho's mate would live with him!?" You ask.

"I would, but here in a palace filled with demons that share the same views as Sesshomaru, well..." She pauses.

But you understand. "Oh, I see. I'm sorry. I've lived with humans my whole life, so I can accept them, I would not know what makes demons act the way they act. But why are you here temporarily, then?" You ask her.

For the first time since you saw her you see her smile a true smile, not a forlorn smile, but a truly happy and radiant smile. "I am here because I have something to tell Inu No Taisho." She says, still maintaining that smile.

Well, you love secrets, so this is something you can't resist. "Oh, really, can you tell me? I won't tell anyone, I promise!" You spout.

She giggles, almost like that of a little girl, and she brings her face closer to yours. "Please don't tell anyone, not Inu No Taisho, and especially Sesshomaru, they will know in time." You nod, and she continues. "I am with child." She says with that smile still wide.

You yelp in surprise, this certainly wasn't what you were expecting, but you feel a sense of happiness for her. And Inu No Taisho. "Oh that's wonderful, Lady Izayoi!" You say.

"Oh, just call me Izayoi, and thank you very much, Akaria." She says, happy with your response.

"Your welcome, I am very happy for you." You say, and you give her a beautiful smile to match hers. "How far along are you?"

"About 4 and a half months now."

"What! Aren't even half-demon babies birthed after only 5 months?" You ask. You know full well that demon babies are birthed after 5 months inside the mother's womb. It is the same case for gods. That's another thing that makes you so similar to demons.

"Yes." She replies in a small voice.

"That far along and you haven't even told your mate yet?" You ask astonished.

"Well, this was my only chance to come to see him again. There are so many demons here, and he can not protect me all the time." She says sadly.

You nod. "I understand, but you should tell him soon. Especially _before_ the baby arrives."

"I know, I plan to tell him tonight. But please don't tell anyone. Please, Akaria."

"I promise. I won't tell anyone."

She then rises. "I better go. It was nice to meet you, Akaria. I hope we see each other again." She says.

You nod. "And I can't wait to see the baby!" You say and giggle slightly.

She smiles and walks off into the palace. You stay sitting and look into the pond. "She is a good person. I hope that she's ok."

* * *


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Pride And Prejudice**

* * *

Here's Chapter 11! And no, this chapter has no relation whatsoever to the novel by Jane Austen. Just saying.

* * *

Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

You decide that you too should get going, you can't just sit there forever, no matter how beautiful and serene this spot may be. You had, after all, planned to explore as much of this place as you could. So that's what you are going to do.

"It seems that whenever I try to explore, something happens." You think, reminiscing on your past attempts.

"Oh well." You say with a light laugh to yourself. "Let's try again." And with that you clap your hands together in confirmation and you leave the pond where you had just met the human mate to Inu No Taisho, Izayoi, and you begin to walk through the vast, green, and luscious garden.

It doesn't take long for your plans to be interrupted again, for as you get closer to the back side of the palace you hear several men yelling angrily and a woman screaming, so loud and shrill it seems that she's screaming for her life. You know that nothing good can come out of what is going on, but what you don't like even more is that you recognize the owner of that scream. And that's what infuriates you.

You narrow your eyes in anger and you run as fast as you can to the site of the noise. Your thoughts are confirmed as you see your dear and most trusted friend, Kisa, being tormented by 3 men. You know that they are some of Inu No Taisho's men, they must be palace guards, but still, it angers you that they are abusing Kisa.

One of the guards has Kisa held up by her neck, trying to throttle the life out of her. He is a Demon, you can tell by his aura, but he doesn't look it, he's much uglier than the Lord, or the other demons you have ever seen. He is rather fat and heavy-set, and he has the ugliest shaggy brown hair with a matching mustache, if you can call it that, it's small, tiny, and unkempt. The other two are equally as ugly, and they are standing back and laughing, all three sets of dark brown eyes glowing with pure enjoyment.

Kisa is still trying her hardest to scream with what little air she has, trying to get someone's attention, and you are so glad that you found them in time before they did anything to her.

The guard holding her up by her neck speaks. "Shut your mouth, you stupid bitch. No one can hear you, so why don't we just have a little fun, don't you think. You are nothing more than a human, so you won't be missed."

Your eyes widen in disgust and rage, you know the horrid and revolting things he means by this, and you will not stand for it. You are not going to stand idly by and watch your friend suffer. You immediately make your presence known to them.

"Hey you! Drop her this instant!" You yell at the first guard through your gritted teeth.

He looks at you and merely laughs. "Shut it, bitch, unless you want to experience the same 'fun' as this human."

Then it hit you, this man doesn't know who you are.

One of the other guards comes up to you quickly and grabs your neck in the same manner as the other one is holding Kisa. "Hey Shibo, this woman here is mine, you have one already!" The guard holding you speaks to the one holding Kisa. This Shibo guy seems to be the leader of this pathetic group.

"Fine, whatever, Nibui." Shibo says as he begins to walk off with Kisa. The other guard following him, leaving you alone with this Nibui guy.

If you had been mortal, or a human, his choking you would have sucked the air out of you, like poor Kisa. However, you were stronger than that, and you were going to show these "demons" what a huge mistake they had made by trying to have their way with you.

"Come on, gorgeous, don't you want to have fun with me?"

Your mouth twitches in disgust, this guy is going to pay. "The only fun I will have with you is when I crush you!" You yell in his face and you kick him in the groin.

He instantly crouches down in instinct and he falls to the ground. You leave him there with his misery and you run off to where the other guards were taking Kisa. They hadn't gotten far. "Hey!" You yell. "I thought I told you to drop her!"

They turn around and look at you, angry that you are still pestering them. The other guard that was following Shibo comes walking up to you, but you're too angry to allow him to get close enough to touch you. Your eyes glow a deep crimson red from your anger, and the men stare at you in shock and surprise.

"What! She's not a human!" Shibo exclaims.

"Damn straight, I'm not!" You yell. You thrust your hand in front of you, palm outstretched, preparing to throw your fire power at them and burn them alive. But you're left in complete shock when not fire shoots out, but ice instead blows at them in a merciless shower. It freezes the other guard, leaving you to deal with this Shibo guy, who has now dropped Kisa to the ground where she is clutching her neck and breathing in deeply the so desperately needed air.

Shibo approaches you angrily now. "You little bitch!"

"That's what you get when you cross the goddess of the Sun and Moon!" You scream at him.

His eyes widen as he learns of your identity, but you don't give him time to do anything else as you freeze him too, in the same manner as the other guard. Nibui comes running to you, seemingly recovered from your kick, but you do away with him quickly as well, as you now stand before three ice blocks.

You run to Kisa. "Kisa, are you all right! What happened?"

"My Lady, I'm so sorry! I was coming to look for you, I didn't know where you had gone, but then those three guards came and tried to take me! Oh, My Lady, you have saved my life again! How can I thank you!?" She screams, tears pouring from her eyes as she embraces you.

"It's ok, Kisa. But maybe you can explain something to me. How come my ice powers came out instead of my fire, when I thought I could only use ice at night?" You ask her.

"Oh, My Lady! That is because now that you are the goddess of the Sun and Moon, you can use all of your powers at any time, day or night!" She answers.

"That's cool! And I guess it was for the best. I don't think Lord Inu No Taisho would have liked it if I had barbequed three of his guards, no matter how disgusting and vile they are." You say jokingly. "Come on, Kisa, let's get away from this particular spot. The decor leaves much to be desired." Kisa laughs at your joke, and she follows you back to the front of the palace.

You both walk for a short distance and then you come across someone you hadn't expected to see again so soon.

"Lady Izayoi? What are you doing here still? I thought you left!" You ask her, Kisa a few paces behind you, to show respect to you and Izayoi.

"Akaria, I saw the whole thing in the back garden." She responds.

"As did I." Comes a deep, strong voice, and Inu No Taisho comes walking up and stands beside Izayoi.

"Uh, oh, you did?" You ask shamefully, would he really scold you for freezing three of his men?

"Don't worry, my dear. What you did was heroic and nothing to be shamed about." He says with a smile and Izayoi nods her head in agreement, also smiling beautifully at you.

Your eyes widen in confusion, that was not the response you had expected.

Izayoi sees your look of bewilderment and elaborates. "Akaria, remember what I told you a short while ago? There are many demons that do not take kindly to humans like Kisa or I. They think that humans are worth nothing. It takes someone incredibly brave and bold to defend a human against their own kind."

"But I'm not a demon." You say.

"No, but you are of the same rank and stature of demons. You have the same abilities and senses. Your aura is also equally as strong as a demon lord's. So for you to defend your friend Kisa, that takes a great deal of courage and loyalty." Inu No Taisho says.

"So what of the guards?" You ask.

"Once they thaw, they will be removed from the palace and the Western lands. You need not worry about them harming your friend Kisa again." He says, with a sense of a laugh hanging on his words.

You bow to him, as does Kisa, but deeper. He smiles and walks off with Izayoi, back inside the castle.

Once their forms have disappeared from view, you turn around and look at Kisa, her eyes once again gleaming with a fresh set of tears. "Well, that was unexpected." You say with a grin.

Kisa smiles back, allowing her tears to fall. "Oh, My Lady!" She says and she bows low to you.

"It's all right, Kisa, it's over. Let's just go back inside." You say.

'I didn't know that Izayoi and Inu No Taisho had seen that. Oops.' You think as you and Kisa walk back into the palace. But little did you know that Izayoi and Inu No Taisho were not the _only_ ones that had seen you.

Sesshomaru's P.O.V.:

You are walking through one of the many corridors in your father's palace, holding a leather bound book in your hands, silently reading its contents. That's what you did quite often while you were here, just read. Anything to get your mind off your father's new _human_ mate. After all, if you killed her like the weak low-life she is, your father would for sure make sure that you suffered the same fate. It confuses you beyond belief that your father would have any sort of feelings for a weak mortal woman, him being the powerful demon that he is.

'Or was.' You think. 'Now that he spends so much time with these humans, the emotions have weakened him.'

You pass a window, where the light from the golden sun bleeds through. Your thoughts are cut short as you hear yelling outside in the garden. You allow your head to drift away from the pages of your book and you look out to see that goddess that your father has taken. The same woman that had pestered you so at that meaningless ball. She is battling with three of the palace guards. One has a human woman hanging by her neck in his hand. You watch, interested, and in a short amount of time, the girl freezes the three guards and rushes over to aid the mortal woman. The weak human woman then embraces the goddess woman and they walk off to the front side of the palace, vanishing from your range of vision.

After watching that little spectacle, you continue walking down the path you had been taking, your mind now racing with even more thoughts.

'Why did that girl save that human? She is not human like her, and yet she is not a demon like my father or I. What fuels these emotions that seem to take my powerful father and that goddess? She seemed as though she would do anything for that mortal. She does seem brave and powerful, she interests me. I shall see for myself what drives this woman to do the things she does.'


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Shimmering Waters**

* * *

Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

Your P.O.V.:

You feel the lustrous, radiant light from the fiery Sun as you turn over in your bed so that you lay on your side, facing the window where the Sunlight soaks through. You smile contentedly, happy that the events of yesterday are over and done with and you will never have to see those vulgar guards again.

'It's also good that no one here will have to see them again.' You muse. 'They weren't all that great of a sight to see.' You insult them.

You rise from your silken bed and walk to your polished oak dresser, looking for something to wear to signify the beginning of the day. You find an aqua kimono with water-like patterns with a beautiful sea-foam green obi to match, also complete with flowing water designs. You quickly put it on and tie the obi, and you walk over to Kisa's room, this time telling her of your plans, lest the events of yesterday repeat themselves.

You open the door to find her still asleep, which you find to be odd, she is usually awake before you. But you see some advantage to this little turn of events, and you feel that you should jump at this opportunity.

You tip-toe to the side of her bed with great stealth, there is no way you are going to ruin this just because she might accidentally hear you. You crouch low so that your faces are inches apart and you take a deep, yet silent breathe, the suspense ready to beat you to the cut. Then you take the plunge.

"Run! Kisa! Run! It's the guards!" You yell in her sleeping face, that isn't all that asleep anymore.

"Ahhh! My Lady! Run!" Kisa's frantic voice screeches as she jumps an estimated 10 feet in the air from the sudden shock. Once she makes impact with her bed again, she looks around perplexed, not seeing any disgusting guards at all, merely you, laughing as hard as your rib cage can allow.

"Yes!" You scream. "I finally got you, Kisa! That was great! You should have seen yourself! For a second, I thought _you_ were the one that could fly!" You continue your laughing campaign, trying your hardest to get those sentences out, much to the annoyance of your friend.

"My Lady! That was a horrible thing to do! You really terrified me!" She says, her face turning into a sad and hurt pout.

"Yeah, that was fairly obvious from the height of your jump." You say, mockingly, still trying to resist the urge to spout laughter again. When you see her face looking so distressed, you cease your laughter and return your thoughts back to the reason you had first entered her room for.

"Ok, I'm sorry. Happy now? But seriously, I came here to tell you that I'm going out again, and this time, I don't want you blindly walking around trying to look for me. All right?" You say.

"But, My Lady." She protests.

"No, Kisa. Look, you're my best friend, the only friend I have here, and I won't always be able to save you, whether I like it or not. And I just don't want my best friend hurt and abused by conceited demons. So promise me that you will stay here until I get back?" You say, narrowing your eyes, like a mother would look at her daughter when reprimanding.

Kisa sighs. She has always been loyal to you, she can't back away from an order. "I promise, My Lady."

You smile, satisfied with her answer. So with that you take a branch of grapes from the bowl of fruit (you like to eat sometimes) and walk over to her door that leads into the adorned hallway. But before you totally exit through the door frame, Kisa's voice reaches you. "Just please, don't do anything stupid, My Lady."

You scoff and turn your nose up, but look at her jokingly. "Since when have I done anything stupid?" You tease, and close the door on her.

You walk down the gold and red adorned white marble hallway, looking for something to occupy your time. It seems that there is never anyone around to do anything with, but you understand, Izayoi is preparing for her birth, which is quickly approaching, Inu No Taisho is taking care of her, the guards and servants are doing their jobs, so that leaves Sesshomaru, but why would you want to spend time with him? The arrogant jerk, you know that he can't be all bad, no one is that heartless, but still, you happen to like humans, there is nothing wrong with them, and anyone that thinks that all humans are scum has got some real issues to work out in your eyes.

"I just have to find something to do before I go mad with boredom." You say out loud, talking to nothing but the air as you wander aimlessly, looking for something out of the ordinary, or at least interesting.

While ambling blindly through the corridors, going down some set of stairs that you weren't paying attention to, you find yourself in another hallway. This one is also sporting the whole white marble motif, but there is one difference, this hallway only has one door. An immense dark mahogany door that takes up a whole wall. You blink a couple times; you could call this a little interesting. However, you hesitate to open the door. 'You know, this would really be awkward if this was a bedroom.' You think to yourself. You weigh your options, and you feel that urge to open the door. What else was there to do today, anyways?

You carefully push open the dark wood door, the only sound heard is the gentle creaking of the door itself. You poke your head around it to make sure that this isn't a place you shouldn't be, but when you see what the room holds, your caution is cast aside and you throw the heavy door open all the way.

You walk in fully to an amazing library, beautifully decorated with the art of literature. Books tower up, seemingly to the heavens, on shelves that go so high, you can see that there is another floor, just so a reader can reach the highest shelves.

Your mouth drops in awe as you stare at books upon books; you have never seen so many in your life! Books in blood-red binding, forest-green, royal-blue, this library is a feat among feats.

"This will be an excellent way to pass the days." You say gleefully, you have always loved to enjoy the written word.

You rummage through the first shelf you reach, looking for anything you deem interesting. When you find one that suits your interests (I can't think of a book that would suit the feudal era, so forgive me for lack of information!) you pluck it out of its resting place and begin to walk out of the amazing library, keeping a mental note of its location, knowing that you will want to make return trips to it.

You begin to absentmindedly flip through the dusty pages, thinking that this book hasn't been touched in a while. But then a scary thought enters your head. You hadn't been paying attention to how you had gotten to the library, so now how were you going to get back?

"Well this is a marvelous little predicament." You tell yourself sarcastically, looking in all directions, hoping that you will find someone that can guide you back to your room. However, you have no such luck. There isn't anyone around at all, as far as your goddess-powered eyes can see. So you move on to Plan B, all the other times you had been trying to find your room, you had noticed that going outside and then from there finding your way to your room had worked. However, you can't see a doorway that will lead outside, so you go to Plan B, Point 1.

Almost as if on an impulse you jump onto the frame of the nearest window, and you crouch upon it. You look down and see that you are quite a ways up from the ground, but it is only a two story drop, easy for someone like you. You let your legs spring out and you gracefully drop to the luscious, crisp green grass, landing gently on your feet like the skills of a cat, but far more enhanced.

You notice that you are at the back of the palace, you had no idea that you had walked this far to get to the library. So you begin your trudge to the front garden. You are walking calmly, looking through the pages of the book, not reading, more so looking, but your thoughts are brought to a halt as you hear a slight sound of splashing coming from a short distance away. Only a few feet to your right, actually. Several oak trees are blocking your view of the source of the splash, but you presume it to be nothing more than a fish breaking the surface of a pond. But then you hear the splash again, and you know full well that that splash is much too big to belong to a fish. You also now notice that there is the gentle sound of a waterfall breaking the silence from a little farther off. Your curiosity makes its way to dominance in your head, and you find that your feet are taking you over to the source of these watery sounds. You gently make your way through the trees and come upon a sight you weren't expecting to see.

It really is a magnificent view, it is a large pond of clear, sterling blue water surrounded on all sides by the luscious grass, dewy from the mist of the cascading waterfall showering down on none other than the one you had just called an arrogant jerk only a short while ago.

You hide behind a thick oak tree, but you peer around as you see Sesshomaru standing in waist-deep water, allowing the crisp, cool water to fall upon his shimmering silver hair. His head is gently turned down and his eyes are closed, but his fingers run through his hair, stroking it and allowing the water to seep through ever lock of lustrous hair. You see his wet, glossy hair fall down onto his broad, strong shoulders and seep to his amazing, hard chest, his hair accentuating the full scale tone of his muscles as his muscled arms continue to allow his fingers to manipulate his silver-white tresses.

Your eyes widen, your mouth is agape, how can anyone so full of himself look so angelic, so otherworldly? Your thoughts are brought to a halt as his eyes quickly bolt open and he looks around, his nose in the air, sniffing for something. You cringe at your stupidity, the guy is a Dog Demon!! Of course! He is smelling for you!!

Not wanting to be caught by Sesshomaru for intruding on his privacy, you back away slowly and when you are sure that you are out of his line of vision you break out in a full scale run to the Main palace doors, your sleek black hair rippling behind you.


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Fury Of The Females**

* * *

Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

You finally make it into the palace and run up the stairs up to the second floor, putting as much distance as you can between Sesshomaru and yourself. You lean on the nearest wall and you sink to the floor, curling your legs up until they reach your chest. You lean your head up against the wall, catching your breath. But not because of the running, you can run till the ends of the Earth and not get the least bit tired, your rapid breathing was due to your nerves. You just can't believe the sight you just saw, it seems that the image of Sesshomaru looking so peaceful and serene has taken a permanent engraving upon your mind. But you can't help but also get the feeling that he knew that you were there, and that's what worries you the most.

'But how could he have seen me?' You think. 'I was hidden well enough.' But then you remember the way he brought his nose up into the air, and you remember the slight twitching it made. 'Oh yeah. I bet he couldn't see me at all, but he could smell me! How could I be so stupid?' You scream in your head as you mentally slap yourself for your careless mistake.

"I bet he'll come up and murder me!" You say to yourself, your famous sarcasm working its way through your mouth, even at a time like this. You stand up slowly and look through the window that rested above your head. Fortunately for you, this window is situated in a perfect place for you to see the pond. You look cautiously through the window, you can see the immense waterfall, even above the soaring trees. You can also see what you are looking for, the exact spot in the water where Sesshomaru had been standing. But there is one thing missing, and that is Sesshomaru himself. You look throughout that whole area, the pond, the trees, any spot that he might be, and yet, he is not there. You know that this doesn't bode well for you.

"Oh shit. I'm in trouble now." You say as you walk away from the window in more of a rush than you would have normally felt comfortable with. The best thing you can think of is to not stay in one place for too long, and hopefully Sesshomaru won't bother to look for you anymore.

You decide that you might as well go back to the library and see what other books are there since last time you didn't get to enjoy the full measure of the number of books there. By now the palace has become familiar to you so you manage to weave your way through the halls and you can smell the scent of the books wafting to your nose. You turn the corner and you can see the large engraved door that separates you and the books and you proceed to the other side of the hall. However, you don't make it to the door as you trip over something unfamiliar that has a detestable scent. You can't make out the full form of this unknown 'thing' as your face hits the floor and you are sprawled out in the middle of the corridor, the wind totally knocked out of you.

You regain your breath and look around for whatever it was the just tripped you. "What the?" You ask the hallway, searching the answer to your question.

But then you get the answer, but not from the hall, but from the something itself, or really the someone.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, hon. I suppose I didn't see you."

The voice is enough to make you grit your teeth. It is a beautiful voice actually, fluid and seductive, but you don't like the sarcasm the drips from the words coming from the voice. You quickly stand up and come face to face with a woman. A woman that you have not seen in the palace before.

You manage to get a good look at her and once again the word 'seductive' comes into your head. She has a thin, dainty figure, with long limbs, not much unlike your own. She is also about the same height as you, standing only about an inch taller than you. She wears a silk black kimono with a matching red obi. But this kimono is incredibly short, even shorter than your everyday kimonos, it only falls about a third of the way down her thighs and the neck of her kimono is slightly open strategically enough so that it manages to show her chest area more than usual. She also has a unique shade of lavender hair that flows in slight waves down to the small of her back complete with matching violet eyes. She would look gorgeous, really, if it didn't seem that she was trying to sell of her body for the first "decent-looking" male that came her way. She has her arms crossed in front of her chest, placing them underneath her breasts so that they are pushed out even more, if that could ever be possible.

You pretend to dust off any excess dirt that could have fallen on your kimono, and you place your arms in a position to match hers. "No, it's all right, _hon_, it's all my fault." You say through gritted teeth, mocking her. You can tell that you're really not going to like her, whoever she is.

She doesn't seem to take the hint, and if she does, she seems to be mocking you as you did her. "I guess you're right. It is all your fault." She replies in a natural snobbish tone which makes your jaw drop.

You are now shaking with fury at her indecorous response. Your eyes begin to glaze over into a crimson red color, you are going to make her pay dearly for humiliating you and insulting you. Normally you would be more peaceful in such a situation, but after the little incident earlier had caused your nerves to abandon you, they seemed to have also taken your common sense with them.

"Oh, hon. Don't even try to use up all your weak pathetic energy on me. Believe me, you won't get far." She says, waving you off like some common filth.

"And just what are you implying with that?!" You spit at her.

She smiles devilishly. "Oh, nothing, hon. It's just that you could never defeat me in a battle. I, Iyana, princess of the Eastern Lands, daughter to the great dog demon Lord Makoto and lover of the great Lord Sesshomaru!" She proclaims, standing up to her fullest height.

You don't think you have ever been more dumbstruck in your life. You blink several times as your forehead furrows and your eyes dart back and forth, you still trying to soak in her words. And when they finally sink in you can't help but throw your head back and laugh, tears threatening to spill from your eyes.

Her face contorts into a look of rage. "What do you find so incredibly funny?" She asks.

You wipe away the tears falling down your cheeks and you compose yourself once again, but a huge smile is still plastered on your face. "Oh nothing, hon." You mock. "It's just that I thought you said that you were Sesshomaru's lover." You say with a slight sigh from all your laughing.

"Yes, I did, and I am! As a matter of fact, Lord Sesshomaru is deeply in love with me." She says defiantly.

"Yes, I'm really sure he is." You say. "I'm sorry to burst your bubble dear. Actually, I couldn't be happier to burst your bubble, but I feel that you must know that Sesshomaru would never fall for some sluttish little priss such as yourself."

"What would you know of Lord Sesshomaru?" She asks. "You are nothing more than a servant. Could you in fact, be one of Lord Sesshomaru's whores?"

"**WHAT!?** How dare you even think that I would disgrace myself to be a whore for anyone!? And I am not, I repeat not, a servant! I am Akaria, daughter of Lord Taiyo and Lady Tsuki, and goddess of the Sun and Moon!"

"Oh. So you are the poor, tragic, little brat that Lord Inu No Taisho allows to live here and sully his palace." She says as though this is a minor discovery.

You eyes glaze over to a deep crimson red. You intend to show this girl who the real brat is! You are going to make her pay for humiliating and insulting you. You are just about ready to lunge at her, aiming to rip her throat right out of her neck.

"You are going to pay for that you little slut!" You scream, cracking your knuckles and extending your fingers, your long claw-like nails ready to slit flesh.

She doesn't pay any notion to your death threat, though as her eyes widen in excitement. She is looking over your shoulders, or really, past your shoulders, at something or someone that seems to be standing a short distance behind you.

She unceremoniously pushes past you, but not without saying in a seductive, yet over-trying innocent and surprised voice. "Oh! Lord Sesshomaru! How wonderful to see you again!

You eyes immediately revert back to their golden hue as you slowly turn around to where Iyana rushed over, praying, hoping that this is some sort of messed up joke just to spite you. Your hopes are easily dashed, though, as your eyes fall on Iyana clinging onto the muscular arm of one obviously pissed off and slightly annoyed Sesshomaru.


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Unknown Reasons: Defending A Seemingly Cold-Hearted Lord**

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Hello again! This chapter is a personal favorite of mine, and has been ever since I wrote it almost 2 years ago! Haha. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! There will be a tiny hint of OOC Sesshomaru in this chapter, but I think you'll understand why. ;)

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Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

"Sesshomaru! How are you, dear? I missed you!" Iyana gushes as she continues to hang onto Sesshomaru's arm as though her life depended on it, rubbing her head on his bare skin. Bare, meaning that he had yet to put his shirt on.

'He must have just gotten out of the water.' You think, watching as tiny rivulets of clear water gently run down his skin and still slightly damp hair. You can't help but blush a little as you look at him, still looking as amazing as he did in the water. And you blush ten times more thinking back to the sight you shouldn't have seen at the pond.

Sesshomaru has yet to say a word, though. All he seems to be doing is looking straight at you with a stare that could penetrate the hardest of stone. You look back at him, equally as hard, trying to prove that you won't back out of a challenge, even one that is never said.

Iyana seems to notice this little battle that is ensuing between you and her so-called "lover", so she tries to break it up.

"Sesshomaru, dear? Is something wrong?"

Sesshomaru darts out of his reverie and looks down at Iyana, who is still holding his arm, of which he doesn't look too pleased about.

"There is nothing wrong, Iyana." Is all he says in response.

"Are you sure, Sesshomaru?" She asks. "Because if there is, you know that I am always here to...help you, should you need some...relaxing." Iyana looks up at him and smiles seductively while rubbing the arm that she seems to have glued herself to delicately with her forefinger.

Well, this is just too funny for you. You can't help but break out in laughter again. It seems that everything this Iyana woman does either pisses you off or makes you laugh yourself into submission.

Iyana's eyes immediately shoot to you, looking daggers at you. But the only eyes you notice are Sesshomaru's as he also looks at you, but in a different way than Iyana. Like he is looking into your soul, into your heart for answers to his questions, whatever those questions may be.

You continue laughing nonetheless, and Iyana's rage kicks up another notch. "What is so funny this time?" She asks you, seething.

It takes even longer than last time for you to regain yourself, but when you do you are set with an answer. "What's so funny? What's so funny!? Ha! Do you really think that Sesshomaru would really fall for an act like that? Do you really think that _any_ man would fall for that? Because if you do, you must truly be a poor, desperate excuse for a female demon!"

For the faintest instant you see Sesshomaru's face, and the look he has on it is enough to make you nearly gasp. For about half a second, you can just about see a smirk cross his face and a look of amusement fall in his golden eyes, but the look is gone so fast, you have to rethink if you really saw it at all.

"How dare you! Sesshomaru, how can you let her say that in front of me?" Iyana whines to him.

You roll your eyes and blow some hair out of your face. "You know, if you want to get Sesshomaru's attention, you're doing it all wrong." You say.

"What the hell do you mean?" Iyana roars.

"Oh, Iyana. Poor, simple, stupid Iyana. To get a man's attention you can't go walking around looking like a slut. Well, unless you want to get a man that is equally as desperate as you. If that's the case, continue what you're doing and how you're acting because you're doing a marvelous job. But to get someone like Sesshomaru, you can't parade around wearing practically nothing, isn't that right, Sesshomaru?" You say, this time addressing him.

Sesshomaru looks at you blinking several times, looking actually, quite dumbstruck. Another bit of amusement to the day for you. You merely chuckle a little and walk out to the gardens, trying with little success to stifle your laughter.

When you finally reach the gardens, your laughter has already diminished, but a smile still remains, the only remnants of your laughing fit. You see the tree where you had first met Sesshomaru, for the oddest reason you feel attached to that tree. You don't have the slightest clue why, but you do know that whenever you even come near it, you feel a sort of calming sense surround you. You walk over to the majestic oak and sit beside a large root, or you try to sit, for when you are nearly situated you hear a small yelp. And it is coming from right underneath you.

"Huh? What? Who's there?! Show yourself!" You yell at the air, for you don't see anything.

"I'm down here!" You hear a small voice pipe up from down on the ground, right were you had just been sitting. You jump back about a foot and you slant your head down to the root. When you still don't see anything, you get down on your hands and knees and poke your face towards the root, squinting your eyes to get a better look at the person that had called you.

Then, an odd sort of twitch comes on your nose, like you have just been bitten, and as a reflex you slap your nose to get rid of the strange feeling. You hold out the palm of your hand and see a small little insect, a flea in fact, resting on your palm, squashed flat from the impact of your hand. "A flea? Are you the one that was calling to me?" You ask the little bug as it peels itself from your palm and regains its shape once again.

"Yes! It was me! Myoga the flea that called you!" The insect says while jumping up and down. He looks like a fairly old flea, you can even see little tufts of white hair.

"Myoga?" You ask. "Never heard of you."

"What! I am the great dog demon Lord's most trusted advisor!" He says with an air of pride.

"Lord Inu No Taisho? His most trusted advisor is a flea?" You ask astonished.

"Yes! And he has told me a lot about you, Lady Akaria." Myoga says. "I understand that you, like my master, enjoy the company of humans?"

"Yes. I do. My very best friend, Kisa, is a human."

"Yes, I know. It is very interesting." Myoga says thoughtfully.

"What? Why? I see nothing wrong with humans!" You say defiantly, in Kisa's defense as well as your own.

"Which is why you will never amount to any extreme power." A calm, deep voice penetrates the air as Sesshomaru appears for the third time today.

Sesshomaru's P.O.V.:

You stare at the sluttish daughter to the Eastern Lord Makoto, his daughter Iyana. She is clinging to you harder than ever after what that Akaria woman said to her.

"Sesshomaru! How can you let her say such things to me?!" She whines at you, batting her eyelashes, trying to seduce you into having her way. You can't help but agree with Akaria, Iyana is the most desperate tramp you have ever seen in your long, long life.

Thinking about Akaria has your mind racing once again, that small woman always seems to have the strangest effects on your mind. Something in you is telling you to go see her, just to see where she went. But then again, it could also be your growing desire to get away from _this_ woman.

You pull your arm away from her without a word and you begin to follow Akaria's path to the gardens. Iyana quickly reaches back to grab it again, but you are not about to let that happen.

"Listen, wench! I have no desire to be within your presence any longer! So if you value your life, you will stay away from my presence!" You bark at her. She withdraws quickly from you, pouting slightly. You sigh deeply, you truly want to get rid of her, and it would certainly be easy for you, but you do have common sense and you know that if you killed her, a war would break out between the East and the West. And your father would never allow that. So you leave without another word and in a short time you are at the gardens, where you see Akaria underneath the same tree you had first met her under. She is talking to someone in her hand, and you can guess that it is your father's vassal flea, Myoga. Then you hear Akaria's voice. A voice that always seems to transfix you, no matter the words.

"What? Why? I see nothing wrong with humans!" She says defensively. And you can't help but reply to her.

"Which is why you will never amount to any extreme power." Her head darts over to you and her eyes widen, almost like she is afraid of you. You smirk, this is going to be rather interesting for you.

Your P.O.V.:

You quickly dart your head to Sesshomaru, your eyes widening in fear. What is he going to do to you? Is he still going to confront you about the pond? Or maybe Iyana is his lover and he's going to chew you out for insulting her so? You see him smirk and you can tell that this isn't going to be a picnic for your side.

"What do you mean I will never amount to any power?" You ask him angrily. "Are you saying that I will never be anyone?"

"Those that are not human and yet feel compassion for those weaklings only end up like the ones they pity. Worth nothing and suffering all through life." He responds matter-of-factly, as though it is fairly obvious.

"How can you say that?! Humans are not worth nothing! They may not have powers or great amounts of strength, but humans are able to see deeper than that. They can look into the heart, and that is what they value, and what is in the heart is what I value as well." You say with a confirming nod of your head.

Sesshomaru just smirks again. Damn those smirks of his! They could either be really annoying or really sexy at the same time! And his voice only adds to the thoughts in your head as he speaks again in his deep, masculine voice. "Oh really? Then enlighten me. What do you see in my heart?" He asks you, slowly bringing his face closer to yours, until both of your faces are only about 5 inches apart.

You sigh and turn your face away from his before you speak to him, but you once again go back to looking straight into his eyes. Brave as you reply. "I see a man, a very strong demon that could possibly be kind and caring, if only he would give up his beliefs of superiority over humans."

He just smirks again, making you really pissed at his calm attitude. You attempt to slap him away in defiance, but he quickly grabs your wrist before you can make impact.

"Why?" He asks you suddenly.

"Why what?" You spit at him, impatient.

"Why did you try to defend me from Iyana if you say that you hate me?"

You sigh. "I don't hate you, I just don't like your attitude towards anyone of lower station than you. And I don't know why I did it, I just felt I should, you know?" You say, shrugging slightly.

He is just about to reply to you when another voice enters the garden, one that you have heard all too much for one lifetime in the matter of a couple hours. "Sesshomaru! There you are! I knew you couldn't be serious about the things you said." Iyana runs up to you two, trying to get Sesshomaru attention. Her eyes widen as she sees Sesshomaru's face so close in proximity to yours. However, you eyes widen even more than hers as you feel one of Sesshomaru's arms wrap gently and gracefully around your waist. You stare at him, but he gives you a quick glare that just screams "If you say anything, I will rip your throat out! You gulp and give him a slight nod, you will humor him and go along with this plan of his. At least for the time being.

Iyana's jaw drops into a look that can't suit anyone, least of all her. "Sesshomaru! What are you doing with her?" She screeches.

"Be gone wench! And do not insult my lover in front of me!" He yells at her.

Your face contorts into one of confusion, you didn't remember that in the deal, unsaid deal or not, this wasn't what you had been planning. But you know that Sesshomaru's glare was just a calling card for a huge threat so you hide your confusion and continue to sit there, silent, playing along the best you can.

Iyana shrieks at hearing this "confession" of his. "What do you mean, lover, Sesshomaru?!"

He replies to her outburst fairly quickly. "I believe that even someone like you can figure out the definition of lover, Iyana." He says calmly. "But let me give you a visual aid." And with that his lips come crashing down on yours in an instant. It seems that even the air is frozen in shock as what is happening. Your eyes become large circles of shock at this sudden impulse of his. But the feeling of his soft, gentle lips caressing yours gets the better of you, and fake kiss or not, you close your eyes in contentment. It only lasts a few mere seconds, but it is enough for you to lose yourself and Iyana to lose her cool.

She grits her teeth, shaking with rage as she storms off into the palace, but not without glaring at you. You return it though, with a devilish smile of your own and a quick little wave of your fingers. Once she is gone and out of sight, you confront Sesshomaru.

"You know, you owe me big for this." You say to him.

He smirks again. "You know, I suppose I do."

He once again leans his face towards your own, but you try to push away. "I didn't mean it like that!" You protest, but that doesn't stop him.

"Oh, but I think you did mean it like that." He says. You try to say something to object, but his lips are too fast for you as his lips touch yours yet again. But this time it is different, there is a sense of passion that you have never experienced before, but you have to admit that you like it. His other arm joins the other one around your waist, bringing you closer to him, while your hands, as though on some impulse, travel around his neck, encircling him in a ring of your arms. He leans you against the tree that seems strategically planted for this purpose as the kiss gets deeper still. Everything just seems right, but it is interrupted as you hear your name being called.

"Lady Akaria!? My Lady!? Where are you!?" Kisa's familiar voice brings you back to your senses and you quickly pull away from Sesshomaru's grasp. You breathing is ragged and quick as you stare at him, him giving the exact same look to you.

"My Lady!? Where are you!?" Kisa repeats her pleas. You turn your head to the direction of her voice, she is coming closer to where you and Sesshomaru are.

You gasp. "I...I...I must go!" You spurt quickly and you jump up and rush over to where Kisa is approaching, leaving Sesshomaru to stare after your quickly diminishing form.


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Different Clothes And Different Plans (Part I)**

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This is more of a filler than anything, but I think that it also offers some character development, if you will. So please bear with me, and as you can see, this is also Part I of II. Plus, I just had fun with this! haha.

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Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

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"My Lady! There you are! I was so worried when you didn't respond!" Kisa cries when you reach her. Your breathing is still hard and quick, and your heart is pumping so fast, you swear a deaf man could hear it. But right now, all you're doing is hoping that Kisa can't hear it.

"I'm fine, Kisa." You say, trying to hide the fact that everything is not all that fine with you. But then you see her eyes widen at you. You blink a couple times, then laugh lightly. "Kisa, what is it? I guess I should be asking YOU if you are all right!"

"No! My Lady look! Your necklace! The pendant your father and mother gave to you!" She points to the pendant hanging loosely around your neck.

You look down at it, indeed, it is something you didn't expect. It is glowing a bright beautiful glow. A glow that you have only seen once before. 'That's weird.' You think. 'The only other time it glowed was when...was when I had the dream with Sesshomaru!' You gasp. What could this mean? You hold it cautiously in your palm, staring at it, practically questioning it what it is doing. But then, the glowing fades slowly, and it resumes its original luster.

You sigh, relieved. "See Kisa? It's all right." You say, although you still have doubts to whether everything is truly all right.

"Very well, My Lady. Now will you tell me where you were just now?"

Your face contorts with anxiety. "You know what, Kisa? I'm pretty tired. I think I'm going to bed, we'll talk in the morning." And just to finish off the charade, you fake a long, loud yawn, hoping that she will buy it. Apparently she does because she nods at you and you walk to your room, Kisa following behind.

Once you reach your room, you do actually feel exhaustion creeping up on you. After all the pounding that your heart had suffered and the unease that you have felt just now, you feel exceptionally tired, even for a goddess. So you collapse on your bed and fall asleep, luckily once again, into a dreamless slumber.

When you wake up from the hospitable rays of the sun, you feel extremely full of life and energized. Kisa shortly comes out of her room to find you just waking up, and she comes and stands in front of you, obviously showing you that she has something to say.

"Kisa? What's wrong?" You ask as you sit on your magnificent bed, feeling the cold, silk sheets cool your heated body down.

She looks a little nervous, but at the same time, almost happy. After acquiring your permission to speak, she says. "My Lady, you do know that the Lady Izayoi is to give birth very shortly, do you not?" She asks.

"Yes." You reply, eyeing her, wondering where this is going.

"Well, forgive me My Lady, but the other servants are all preparing for the birth as according to Lord Inu No Taisho's orders. But however, the servants need more assistance, so I have volunteered to help with their duties. Is that all right, My Lady?"

You smile at her, she had always been one of the kindest people you have known, human, demon, or otherwise. "Yes, of course it's all right, Kisa, it's..." You immediately stop. Your eyes widen and you look Kisa square in the eye, smiling devilishly at her, to instantly be returned by a terrified look from Kisa.

Kisa's P.O.V.:

When you see Lady Akaria looking at you the way she is, you know that something must be going on in her head. Your Lady has always been incredibly clever, she can actually be brilliant when she wants to be. But she can also be extremely reckless, never afraid to take any risks whatsoever. You are also quite familiar with this look that she is showing right now, and you know that it can't be all that benefiting for you.

Your P.O.V.:

You chuckle at Kisa, she always looks like that when you smile after an idea. And it is indeed, a brilliant idea, if you say so yourself. "What's the matter, Kisa? Cat Demon got your tongue?" And with that, you laugh at her, much to her dispense.

"My Lady, I know that you have something in mind! Please tell me!" She begs.

"Hey, Kisa? Do you think that I can borrow some of your clothes?" You ask her.

"My Lady! Servant's clothes!? But why?"

"What do you think? I want to join you in assisting the other servants! There is nothing interesting around here, and personally, I want to see what it is that you do all day!" You say, shrugging, as if it is the most obvious thing in the world.

"But My Lady! What if we are caught? What will the Lords and others of your rank say? What will Lord Inu No Taisho say should he catch us?" She asks, frantic with worry sparkling in her eyes.

"Don't worry, Kisa. If anything should happen, it'll be me that gets in trouble, you have nothing to fear. And besides, I really want to do this. And can you really deny a request from your Lady?" You ask, mocking her, knowing that she has great loyalty to you. But then again, you have great loyalty to her, after all that she has done for you in the past.

Kisa sighs, defeated. "Very well, My Lady, but we must hurry before it is dark, while your hair is still black. Once it changes to silver, you will be recognized as a Lady." Kisa warns you.

"I know. So let's do this! I'm too excited! I've never seen what servants do!" You say, and that was true. You have never really seen what work the servants do. You know that they have to clean and do other manual labors, but living in a world of customs and traditions has always been tiring and depressing for you. 'It's time to see how the other half lives.' You think.

Kisa retreats to her room and in a few seconds returns with a kimono that is exactly the same as hers. It is a short white kimono, no designs or anything, the only spot of color is the ocean blue obi that also has no designs on it. But now that you think of it, this is all that Kisa ever wears. Except when she would have to fulfill her duties as a priestess at your parent's temple, then she would wear the traditional white haori with the red hakamas.

"All right." You say. "Just give me a minute and then you can show me where we can start." You go behind you changing screen and change from your kimono to Kisa's simpler one. You have always thought that your everyday kimonos were rather simple, but Kisa's is even simpler. Now you can already tell the differences in classes, and deep in your heart, you find it almost unfair.

You come out from behind the screen after changing, and you smile at Kisa to make sure that everything is all right. She coughs and looks at you, pointingly. You look at yourself and look at the nearby mirror, staring into your reflection. Immediately you see the glint of gold flashing from your body.

"Oops!" You say, laughing. You had forgotten to take off your jewelry. You quickly pull of your golden hair clips and other adornments, but you only tuck your necklace into your kimono top. You refuse to take off the pendant, not for the world. You look at Kisa one more time and she smiles at you approvingly, even though she doesn't like this little game of yours, she knows that you only have good interests at heart. It is, really, only simple curiosity.

"Ok, My Lady. Now we must go down to the servants quarters where they will tell us what we need to do to help prepare."

"Oh, all right. But Kisa, you know that you won't be able to call me "My Lady" right? And we can't use my name either. Hmmm. Ok. For the time being, let's pretend that my name is Yumi, ok?" You say. You want this to turn out right, you won't be looked at as a screw-up, even by servants.

"All right, My La...I mean, Yumi." Kisa corrects herself quickly, which makes you smile. You nod at her and you both creep out into the hall, making sure that no one that could recognize you is around. For the time being, as long as it is daylight, you will be all right, your black hair won't stand out amongst the other servants. Your golden eyes won't really bother anyone as well, you can just say that you were born that way. However, when the moon comes out, and darkness rises, your hair will become silver, and that can pose something of a problem. At least for you.

Kisa leads you down a set of stairs that you could have sworn you have never seen before, but they look like they are hidden. Almost out of the way of the normal hallways and corridors, as though no one wants to know that they are there. You realize that that must be expected, though. A lot of Lords and other people of rank believe that servants must not be seen of heard as they do their responsibilities. Kisa brings you to a small and simple door, much like the corridor you are in right now, small, simple, and no decor at all. She opens the door and you see about 15 other female servants standing around one older looking female that is holding a little scroll that is rolled out. She is reading from it and the other women are standing around her.

Kisa speaks up for the both of you. "Pardon our tardiness, ma'am. But we are here now and await your requests." The older woman merely nods and continues reading out loud what she had been previously engages with.

"Ok. Now where was I?" She says. "Ah, yes. Mika and Suzume, you must go clean the South Wing as usual." At once you see two girls that are about the same age that you look jump up and immediately leave the room and close the door behind them. You are surprised by their lack of words.

"Kuri! Since Lady Akaria's lady-in-waiting has agreed to help us, you and her will clean the West Wing."

You jump up at hearing your name. The older woman sees your reaction and looks at you, puzzled. "I have never seen you before, girl. Who are you?"

Kisa immediately covers for you, much to your gratefulness. "Pardon, ma'am, but this is Yumi, she only recently became a maid here. Might she accompany Kuri and I to the West Wing so that we may teach her all that goes on here?"

"Very well, make sure she does a good job though." The woman says. You don't even know here name, but you don't want to blow your cover, so you don't ask. You only tilt your head to the floor as Kisa, this girl Kuri, and you walk to the West Wing. The residential Wing, where your room and the rooms of Lord Inu No Taisho and guest rooms are.

"Wow! I didn't think that old lady Miru would give us such an easy wing!" Kuri exclaims happily, as you and Kisa follow her. You can tell that you already like her, she seems so innocent and kind. She looks to be only about 13 years old, mid-length dark brown hair with chocolate brown eyes to match, but you can tell that she must be more mature beyond her years. You smile at her and her silliness and she smiles back.

"How is it the easiest?" Kisa asks her.

"Oh, well, it might not be easy, but I think that it is better than the South Wing. Hardly anyone uses that Wing. I bet it's filled with dust! And besides, Lord Inu No Taisho's chambers are here, and he's really nice!" She says with a smile, that you can't help but return. You start, thinking of something.

"Wouldn't that mean that Sesshomaru's chambers are here as well?" You ask quickly.

She gasps, shocked. "Wow! You must be new! No servant has ever called Lord Sesshomaru without his title!"

"Ummm..." You hesitate. "I'm sorry. I meant, is this where _Lord_ Sesshomaru's chambers are?" You ask again.

"Yep! Hu-uh! But why do you ask?" She questions, but still maintaining her liveliness.

You can feel your face blushing a little, and you don't know why. You gulp and quickly say. "No reason, I just figured that all the bed chambers must be here then."

She smiles and nods. "They are. And I heard that Lady Akaria's room is here too, I would love to meet her, a lot of the servants have said that she is really nice, brave, and pretty too!"

You feel your face and spirit glow at her words. Many priests and priestesses back at the Temple had called you pretty, gorgeous even, but when this girl said it with such sincerity, you felt that all the other compliments you had gotten didn't even compare. A simple servant thinking highly of you, and a human servant too.

"Ok." Kuri says. "Now, where is that room that holds all the cleaning supplies? I know that there is a small room for them around here somewhere, but I don't remember where." Kuri says as she scratches her head, furrowing her forehead in thought, trying to remember the location of the lost room.

You chime in, eager to prove that you can help. "Well, the best way to find the supply room is to look. So let's check." You say and you reach for the first door that you see, not really paying any attention to the door itself.

"Miss! Wait! Don't go in there!" Kuri cries.

You smile at her. "Why? It's just a door. And after all, the cleaning supplies might be in there!" You say.

You turn the knob and open the door, barging in.

"No! Please miss! That isn't the supply room! That's Lord Sesshomaru's...room."


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: Different Clothes And Different Plans (Part II)**

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Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

You fully enter the room and immediately regret doing so. The room is slightly dark, only lit by the sunlight managing to seep through. But that doesn't matter to you in the slightest. The only thing that has caught your attention is the large king-sized, blood-red sheet adorned bed that is located in the center of the incredibly large matching red room, leaning up against the wall. That and what is currently on the bed is enough for your mind to freeze.

You just stand there, staring at the sight that is in front of you, you have officially lost all control of your nervous system. You wouldn't be able to move, even if you could think straight.

There he is, the occupier of this room, Sesshomaru himself, laying on his bed, on his side, with his hand propping up his beautiful head, his hair rippling all around him like water. You can tell that he is thinking, his eyes staring out the red and gold curtained window, lost in thought. Or at least he was lost in thought, until a certain someone came in and barged in on his privacy. His privacy, meaning that he was lying in his bed, and wearing nothing at all, to your complete astonishment. His only covering is the blood red silk sheet covering from his hips to his mid thigh.

His head instantly jerks around to see who disturbed him, his eyes glowing a gleaming ruby red, his fangs bared, ready to attack the idiot that has walked in. And to your misfortune, that idiot just happens to be you.

You gasp as your gold eyes meet his claret orbs. "I...I...I'm sorry! I didn't...I mean...I...oh shit..." You stutter, your face blushing a deep cherry red as you turn around, your back now facing him, you are looking at the ground, afraid. These are most likely your last words and you can't even form them into a proper sentence. You can try to run, and you so wish that you could, but your feet don't seem to be agreeing with you, so you just stand there, waiting for what he is going to do to you. You only hope that it will be quick and not all that painful.

However, you are brought to an instant sense of shock that changes to confusion when you hear a small, but profound chuckle coming from behind you. Your eyes widen. 'What's he going to do to me?!' You think. You hear a slight rustling from his bed, you know that he has gotten up, but you don't dare to look and find out. The sound stops, but you get the feeling that someone is right behind you. You find enough courage to turn around, and sure enough, there he is, incredibly wearing his pants again, and staring straight down at you.

It is now that you fully take in his features. First of all, being his height as he towers over you and your 5'5" figure. You only reach his shoulders, and even then barely. You can also see that he actually has a crescent moon on his forehead. A beautiful calming shade of indigo. You blink a couple times and furrow your forehead in thought, even at a time like this.

Sesshomaru stares at you questioningly before speaking. "What are you staring at?"

You jump back to the matter at hand and reveal your thoughts. "I was just thinking that it's odd that I am the Goddess of the Moon, and yet you are the one with the symbol of the moon on your forehead. You didn't steal it from me, did you?" You ask smiling, but also hoping to distract him from the fact that you had still stormed into his room, and uninvited too.

He frowns at you, somewhat impatient, but you can almost swear that there is some amount of amusement twinkling in those eyes of his. Now a beautiful gold color once again, the anger miraculously having faded from them. "I did not steal anything from you, and I do not wish to do so. However, it is you that has stolen. You stole my privacy from me, and now I would like to know why you have stormed into my chambers, uninvited, unannounced, and in servant's clothes no less."

"Oh! That! Well, um, I'm sorry!" You say. 'So much for forgetting it.' You think. "I really am sorry, it's just that I was helping the servants with some extra chores that they needed done, and I was looking for a supply closet, but instead I accidentally walked in here, thinking that this was the supply closet. I guess I was wrong."

He stares at you as you spurt all of this out, in a very apologetic tone. Then when you finish he smirks slightly at you, giving you chills, and a certain amount of fear. "Did you really come in here on accident? I don't think you are telling me everything. Did you not in fact, search me out, hoping to find me?" His face come closer to yours as he says this, making your eyes feel like they are going to jump out of their sockets.

"No! No! I'm telling the truth, I was helping the servants, they are right out here! They-" You don't continue, for to your dismay, and annoyance, both Kisa and Kuri have disappeared, leaving you alone with Sesshomaru yet again. 'Well thanks a lot you guys!' You mentally scream at them, wherever they are right now. "They were here! I swear! And I had no clue that this was your room! And I have no intention of searching you out!" You defend yourself and your dignity, or what's left of it.

He smirks again, clearly enjoying watching you squirm with discomfort. "If you say so." Is all he says as he walks over to his balcony door, drawing the curtains to let the glorious sun shine through, opening the doors and walking out, leaning on the stone railing.

"Yes, as I say so! Because I'm telling the truth!" You retort to the back of his head. He looks at you through the corner of his eye, and then returns to looking out at the gardens below him.

You're not done though. Now that you've got him somewhere, you have more to tell him. A question to ask that you have been dying to have a reply from.

"Why?" You ask quietly, so soft that almost no one would be able to hear you. However, that is not a problem for the keen ears of a dog demon.

"Why what?" He returns.

"Why did you kiss me the other day? I want to know why." You whisper, almost afraid of his reaction at such a bold question.

He stares at you fully now, his whole body facing you. You make a small squeak and look back down at the floor, until you see his boots approach right in front of you and you feel his forefinger lift up your chin to look at him.

"Why do you want to know? Did you make something of it? Did you feel something from it?" He questions, his eyebrow cocked, amused, and yet seductive.

You blink your eyes wide, but immediately revert them to their normal size. "No! I just wanted to know if _you_ made something of it!" You almost yell.

He smirks again, and you're starting to think if all this smirking at your expense would eventually make his face contort that way. He sighs. "And once again, you are lying." He drops your chin and walks back onto his balcony, leaving you in his room alone.

You're shaking with either rage or frustration, right now you can't tell which. "Argh! You are being so impossible!" You scream at his back again, and you storm out of the room, clearly forgetting that you hadn't gotten an answer out of him. But that falls out of your mind as you yourself also fall onto the floor, having run into someone.

Sesshomaru's P.O.V.:

You hear her slam your bedroom door, a little louder and harder than was really necessary. But you don't mind, you found it extremely entertaining to see her frustration and her annoyance with you, and your obvious avoidance of her question. But you had a good reason for avoiding it, even though you had done a clever job of it. For, if truth be told, you don't know the answer to her question, and you had been thinking about the possible answer for a while now. In fact, when she had walked in on you, it had been the very thought you had been thinking about.

'Why? Why did I kiss her?' You mentally ask yourself. 'That, I don't know myself.'

Your P.O.V.:

You look up at whoever it is that knocked you down, and you find yourself for the second time, having run into Lord Inu No Taisho, with you once again on the floor.

"I'm so sorry My Lord! I wasn't paying attention to my path!" You say as you jump up.

He chuckled heartily at you. "That's all right, my dear. But it seems that we like to run into people a lot, now do we?" He says, jokingly to you.

You smile up at him. "Forgive me."

"There is nothing to forgive, no harm has been done, but I was actually looking for you, my dear, and by luck I have managed to find you. But I now have another question for you. Why are you dressed in the clothes of my servants?"

You blush. "Oh! Your servants needed help in preparing for Lady Izayoi's birthing, so I volunteered to assist them with their responsibilities."

He laughs deeply, amused by you. "Oh! My dear, you are clearly quite an open-minded woman. If only my son was as open-minded as you."

"With all due respect, My Lord, I can't help but believe that Lord Sesshomaru is open-minded when he chooses to be. It is just that his blind hatred to all creatures he deems lower than him has limited his vision to the way things could be if he were always, as you say, open-minded." You say, having no clue why.

Sesshomaru's P.O.V.:

You had walked out of your room, for no reason in particular, just to get a different atmosphere from your room to think.

You see Akaria talking to your father. "With all due respect, My Lord, I can't help but believe that Lord Sesshomaru is open-minded when he chooses to be. It is just that his blind hatred to all creatures he deems lower than him has limited his vision to the way things could be if he were always, as you say, open-minded."

There she goes defending you again. 'But why?' You think. 'What compels her to stand to my defense, even when she has no need to do such a thing, and I have yet to ask her for assistance on anything?'

These questions bring about the same frustration you get when you are still figuring out why you kissed her. You walk away, not bothering to listen to more of the conversation, your thoughts have carried you off. So you walk back out to the garden, off to contemplate things again.

Your P.O.V.

"Wise words from one so young." Lord Inu No Taisho compliments you.

"Thank you, My Lord, but what is the problem that you have come to tell me of, My Lord?" You ask.

"I believe you are aware of Izayoi's condition?" He asks, and when you nod, he continues. "Yes, well, I am afraid that I must leave for a short while to tend to certain matters, and as Izayoi is due very soon, I would like to ask you if you would possibly watch over her."

"I would be happy to, My Lord. But I'm afraid I must ask why? Do you not have guards that can watch over her?"

He replies. "Izayoi is, as you know, a human. All my guards are demons. I can, and I am, having them watch her, but they only consent to do so because I request it. They have no emotions or pity for her and they would sooner let her die if not for me, I'm sure. But I have seen you protect a human from my guards before, and I know that you have feelings towards humans, so I know that if you agree, you would not fail me."

"Yes My Lord, I agree, and I will watch her in your absence, but might I also ask where you are going that demands your leaving so suddenly?"

"A powerful and evil demon by the name of Ryukotsusei has recently begun a rage of attacks upon the lands not far from him. He is an age-old enemy to me, and so I feel that it should be me that goes after him to stop his horrible acts." He tells you.

"Very well, My Lord, and I wish you a safe journey and return." You say as you walk away, heading back to your room to pick a few bones with Kisa.

'And I still didn't get an answer from Sesshomaru.' You think, annoyed as you continue to your room, still dressed in the servant clothes Kisa had given you.


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: A Sense Of Betrayal And A Sense Of Distrust**

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Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

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You finally do make it to your room, but you don't stay in your room for long, for you instantly make a bee-line for Kisa's room. You burst in through her door, and find her, and miraculously Kuri, both sitting on her bed, as if they had been waiting for you to tell them off.

Kisa speaks up to you. "My Lady, it seems that you enjoy barging into other's rooms today, is that right?" She smiles at you. Then both she and Kuri start bursting out in laughter. They seem to have no guilt about leaving you in Sesshomaru's room to be humiliated.

"Oh, shut it, Kisa. I can't believe you would just leave me there like that!" You spit at her angrily.

"I'm sorry, but I knew that Lord Sesshomaru would take kinder to you bursting into his room, rather than you and two servants." Kisa shrugs her shoulders.

Kuri then speaks up, but not in her bubbly, happy, voice, but one that is slightly confused. "What do you mean, two servants, Kisa? There were three of us. Three servants. And Miss, don't you think that you shouldn't have barged in through Lady Akaria's room? I don't think that she would like that."

You sigh. "It's fine, Kuri. I'm Akaria. You don't have to worry about it."

Her eyes widen. "You're Lady Akaria? But why were you pretending to be a servant?"

"I don't know, I just thought that it would be fun. Instead of just sitting all the time, listening to traditions and protocol."

"But why, My Lady? The life of a servant is nothing compared to yours." Kuri asks.

"Not really. It seems that a servant has more freedom than I will ever have. I wanted to experience that freedom. And I guess everything went well, except for that minor setback, but hey! At least we didn't have to clean anything!" You exclaim. They both start laughing again.

The three of you spend the rest of the day just talking and laughing at each other, while every five minutes they keep brining up the look on your face when you barged into Sesshomaru's room, much to your annoyance. You completely forget everything about rank, stature, and what others would think if they saw you conversing so casually with two servants. It doesn't matter to you, anyways. You have also started to take a liking to Kuri, she is sweet and kind, and she absolutely adores you. Soon it starts to get dark out, and your hair transforms to white.

Kuri jumps up surprised. "My Lady! Your hair! It's white!"

You take a strand in between your index and middle finger and look at it. "Oh. So it is. It does that whenever night begins to fall. Don't worry, Kuri. I guess that it's time to go to bed. Goodnight, Kuri."

"Night, My Lady." Kuri stands and walks over to the door, but before she leaves you hear a loud yawn come from Kuri. You smile, she must have been tired, but she didn't want to admit it.

"All right. Goodnight, Kisa." You say and walk back over to your room.

"Goodnight, My Lady."

You enter your room and close the door. You go to your oak dresser and pull out a plain lavender sleeping kimono with a dark violet obi. You slip off Kisa's servant clothes, you can give them back to her in the morning. You put on your kimono and walk over to your bed. You lean slightly on the headboard and place your hands on the back of your head, your arms fanned out on either side of you. Now that you are alone, your mind goes back to a few hours ago, back to when you had seen Sesshomaru, and the state he had been in when you saw him, lying gracefully on his bed. For some reason, you can't get that sight out of your head, but even so, a part of you doesn't want to get it out of your head. A part of you liked what you had seen.

'But why do I keep on getting this feeling whenever I see Sesshomaru? Even when I just think about him for a second, my mind wants to think about him longer. Argh! I just don't get it!' You think. You lie down fully on your bed. You don't feel like going to sleep, and your goddess body does not require sleep tonight, but before you know it, the calming peace of the night, put together with your never ceasing thoughts puts you to sleep…

You are standing in a beautiful, light green meadow. You have no clue as to where you are or how you got here, wherever here is, that is. All you know is that you are alone.

Suddenly, you hear footsteps make their way to you; you can hear the crisp crunch of the grass underneath the person's feet. You look over at the owner of the feet, and you are so relieved that your eyes start to tear with thankfulness. You stare into the beautiful blue eyes you haven't seen for quite some time now. And now that you do see them, it feels like a welcomed relief.

"Ryoku! It's you! Oh thank the gods! What am I doing here? Where is here? Where are we?"

He walks fully up to you now, looking down at you. But he doesn't react to you at all; he continues to stare down at you, but not in the kind, protective way that you had always seen him look at you. This new stare of his is hard and cold, he looks almost heart-less. The only other time you saw this stare was the first night you met Sesshomaru. But Ryoku has never looked that way to you before, and the way that he is looking at you now, causes your heart to freeze in your throat.

"Ryoku, what's wrong? What is it?"

It's like he doesn't even hear your questions, your pleas of help. He continues to look down at you, until finally he speaks. "Why?" He whispers to you.

"What? What are you talking about?" You ask.

"WHY DID YOU BETRAY ME, AKARIA!?" He yells at you. He grabs your shoulders and begins to shake you furiously. His voice this time is unlike anything you have ever heard him say, he sounds infuriated with you.

Your eyes widen, confused and hurt. "Ryoku, you're hurting me! And I never betrayed you! What are you talking about?"

"Never betrayed me!? How dare you lie to me! You, chasing after that monstrous and barbaric demon! How dare you lie to me, when I know that you have developed feelings for that creature?"

Your eyes go even wider; you can't believe what he is saying. "Ryoku, that's ridiculous! And Sesshomaru isn't a creature!"

"See? There you go defending him again! I've seen you defend him! Just forget it! You can rot in hell for all I care, you little whore!" He bellows at you. His words make your heart fall to pieces, hurt that this man that you cared for, and whom you had thought cared for you, is speaking to you in such a way. He drops your shoulders and you weakly fall to the ground, your hands feeling the soft, crisp grass.

"You betrayed me, Akaria. You betrayed me, and I will never forgive you for that." He says as he walks away from your crouching figure. You continue to cry into your hands.

"But Ryoku? Why?" You whisper...

You jump up in bed, still in the same position you had been when you fell asleep on accident.

"Damn these dreams! What's wrong with me?" You ask yourself loudly.

You rub your face with your hands. You can feel the moisture on your face, the sweat beads, dripping down in little trails. But not just sweat; your eyes are seeping clear, fresh tears.

You put your face in your hands. "It was all a dream. It was all a dream. But Ryoku said I betrayed him. Can he really think that? But he doesn't even know how or what I'm doing here, so how would he know what's going on. But there is nothing going on between Sesshomaru and I. He's a selfish, cocky jerk. And to him, I'm nothing but an idiotic, clueless little girl, right? So how am I betraying Ryoku?" You ask yourself.

You look to your window; the sun is just starting to rise. You can see the bright red orange and pink lights from the sun shining in rays in the midst of the small white clouds. "No point of falling asleep again." You say. And in your heart, you wouldn't fall asleep again, even if you wanted to. That dream was just too real.

You carefully and quietly crawl out of your bed. You hadn't even used the bed sheets last night. You go to your dresser and take out a sun yellow kimono with light green flower prints and a matching light green obi. You go to your basin and gently wash your face with cool water, to get rid of the traces of nervous sweat and tears. You dry your face and then brush your hair out, letting it flow down in its now raven black state.

When you are done with your morning rituals, you leave your room, not bothering to tell Kisa or even see if she is awake.

You head over to the Northern wing, where you know Izayoi must be. Inu No Taisho did not tell you where her room was, but you can smell her, and the surrounding scents of demons that are set to guard her. You figure that you might as well keep your promise of looking after Izayoi. After all, you have nothing better to do today, and after that dream, you will do anything to get your mind off of it. And besides, she will give birth in a very short while; she is due in a couple days.

You make it to the Northern wing, and you can instantly tell which room is Izayoi's. Not because of her scent, but it is the only door that has two demon guards standing on either side of the doorway. You walk up to them and they quickly bow to you and step aside. Apparently they either recognize you, or your scent. But they know that you will do no harm, so they allow you to pass. But another thing that surprises you is that these guards are not demons, they are humans. Their scents only masked by the strong auras of the demons that you can tell would usually guard this room.

You walk in through the door and you see Izayoi, sitting beside a large koto and talking to a man, a human man, that you have never seen before. "Oh! Oops! I'm sorry! I didn't know that you already had company, Lady Izayoi! Forgive me, I'll excuse myself." You say.

Izayoi stands up and walks over to you. Her stomach is so large at this point, you know that the baby could come at any time now. "Oh no, dear, that's all right. Let me introduce you to a very dear friend of mine. This is Lord Takemaru of Setsuna."

The man, Takemaru, stands up and walks over to stand beside Izayoi. He has lank black hair that falls to his shoulders and brown eyes. He is also wearing heavy armor, encrusted with gold and red adornments. He is also holding a certainly heavy red and gold helmet, cradled by his left arm.

"It is very nice to meet you, My Lord." You say politely.

He merely nods at you, and then he looks away, never once looking you in the eye, which you find very strange.

Izayoi doesn't seem to notice this tension. "Akaria, how would you like to have some tea? We were just in the middle of some, would you care for any?" She asks kindly, never noticing how Takemaru keeps staring at her. In fact, you deduce that Takemaru only looks at her the entire time she speaks to you. And in his eyes, you can see a sort of look in there that you don't like. It is a sense of longing and wanting, and he is directing that gaze to Izayoi.

'Does this Takemaru guy have a thing for Izayoi?' You think to yourself, but you don't speak it, and you answer Izayoi's question.

"Thank you Lady Izayoi, that is very kind."

At hearing your acceptance, Takemaru stands up straight, almost rigid. "I think that I should be leaving then, Izayoi."

"Oh, Takemaru. Must you leave so soon?" Izayoi asks.

"Yes, something...has come up." He says in a distant tone.

You furrow your forehead, you have the faintest notion that he is lying. It is almost as though he does not want to be around you.

Izayoi sighs and says. "Yes. I am sure that you are busy, Takemaru. Well, it was wonderful to talk to you again after all these years, my dear friend."

You swear that you see Takemaru's eyes narrow at the word "friend", and that just about settles the matter for you. 'I knew it. He does like her. Great.' You think sarcastically. But he walks off, paying no attention to you, and he closes the door behind him, where you can hear the loud clank of his boots as they descend farther away.

"I do not think that he should be trusted, Izayoi." You say to her as you sit down and accept the herbal tea she offers you.

"Oh, Inu No Taisho says that often. But that is nonsense. He is a very good friend, and I trust him with my life." She waves off your words with her hand, as though they were foolish, and she smiles at you reassuringly.

'With your life.' You think as you sip your tea. 'That's what worries me.'


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: Iyana's Revenge, Akaria's Mind**

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This is officially where the M rating shows itself. Nothing too bad, just a bit of language (and I guess what you could call a catfight. haha), so don't be offended, ye have been warn-ed.

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Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

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You blow away your thoughts of distrust towards Takemaru, and just spend the rest of the day talking to Lady Izayoi. Maids keep on running back and forth from the room, removing Izayoi's belongings, for she will be moved to the birthing chambers soon, and they must prepare them for her. After all, she will be giving birth here in the palace. And since there is nothing better for you to do, and you did make a promise to Inu No Taisho to watch over her, you might as well spend time with Izayoi. Besides, she is a very kind and caring person, and you like her very much. Then you come up with an idea.

"Lady Izayoi? Do you like to read?" You ask her.

"Oh, yes, dear. Very much, but it has been hard to read with the baby coming very soon." She replies with a small giggle.

You smile. She may have the adult aura that you seem to be lacking, despite you being much older than her, but she can still act like a teenage girl, just like you. "Would you like me to read to you, Lady Izayoi?" You ask.

She smiles back. "That would be very kind of you, but you don't have to do that. Isn't there something else that you would rather do than spend time with a pregnant woman?"

"Oh, no. I would love to read to you. And there is nothing that I would rather do." You say as you stand up. 'There is nothing else _to_ do.' You think, but you don't tell her that. "I just need to go to the library and get some books, then I will return back here." You say as you walk out the door, bypassing the maids without bumping into them. You also manage to see Kuri helping out as well; you give her a quick smile, which she returns with an even bigger one that makes you smile even more as you pass by. So you end up leaving the chambers with even higher spirits than before.

You are walking briskly to the library, still in a happy mood, and in no time at all, you make it to the library. However, when you reach the door, a scent enters your nostrils, one that seems to be lingering around the library. A scent that seriously makes you debate entering the library at all.

However, you did make a promise, and even if it is a trivial promise, your honor would never let you walk back to Izayoi and say that you couldn't get a book all because of one person, even though you really don't want to see this person at the moment. So you swallow your pride and enter the library calmly and casually, paying no heed to the person that is also in the library with you. Even if they do notice you.

Your nose didn't fail you, even if it is to your dismay, for there is Sesshomaru, casually reading a leather-bound book while leaning against the shelves on the other side of the room. It always seems that you run into this guy when you really don't want to, but you are not about to let him know what you are thinking. You have a purpose for being in here, and you are going to fulfill that purpose. Sesshomaru is not a part of that plan, and you are going to keep it that way, for as long as you possibly can.

You walk over to the nearest book shelf, searching for a book that you think will be of mutual interest to you and Izayoi, but you can't help but look over at Sesshomaru out of the corners of your eyes. And when you see him doing the exact same thing as you, with his eyes equally as golden-yellow, you quickly revert your eyes back to the shelf, hoping that he doesn't notice you. Well, of course, your luck around this guy has hardly ever been to your benefit, so he does notice. He lets out one of those chuckles that makes you always feel stupid and prone to strangle the closest object that happens to come your way, and then he closes the book he is reading, and leaves it on a small table, beside a marble bust, and he walks over to you.

You pay no attention to him as he makes his way to you, you continue to rummage through the shelf, however, you're not even paying attention to the contents of the shelf anymore.

"Why do you reek of humans?" He asks you when he reaches you, as he leans on the shelf nearest you.

"Well, isn't that the greatest greeting I've ever heard." You say sarcastically. "But of course I smell like humans. Or "reek" as you so kindly put it, after all, Kisa is my maid."

"No. You have the scent of other humans, besides that pathetic servant of yours." He says calmly.

"Now wait a second! Kisa is not pathetic at all, I find her more accepting and open-minded than you! And if you must know, I have spent my time with the humans in your father's palace, seeing as I find them a little more virtuous than some of your father's demon servants." You say, instantly thinking about the time those boorish guards harassed Kisa.

He shrugs slightly, knowing full well that by doing so, it is annoying the hell out of you. "Why is it that you always come up to this library?"

"And how the hell would you know that I come up here?" You retort.

"Your scent seems to hang in here whenever I enter. I can smell it all over this room."

You roll your eyes. But before you can say anything, clever or otherwise, the great oak door to the library opens again, and in enters another person that also just seems to lighten up your day further.

"Sesshomaru! Darling! There you are! I've been looking practically _everywhere_ for you! I wanted to say goodbye to you before I must return to the Eastern Lands!" That shrill voice only makes your skin crawl, with annoyance and disgust as Iyana comes running up to Sesshomaru, her hips swaying side to side, her eyelashes batting so hard, you could practically feel the gust from them if you concentrated hard enough. But then she sees you, standing right beside Sesshomaru, and her fake, cheap smile disappears into a frown of anger and resentment. "Sesshomaru, honey? What is she doing here?" She asks as she points to you delicately.

"Oh, don't worry _dear_, I was just leaving, if you will excuse me. I recently came upon a foul stench in this room and it is the oddest coincidence that it always seems to follow you everywhere." You say as you walk to the door, but when you reach it, you turn your head back and add. "Oh, wait! Maybe it wasn't a stench; it was your horrid, whorish scent!" And you close the door on her and Sesshomaru before she can make it to you.

You walk back to Izayoi's chambers; having actually managed to get a book that you think would be of appeal to Izayoi. You almost make it back to her rooms, but someone is blocking your way.

"Oh, not you again." You say as you approach Iyana. Seeing her twice in the last several minutes is really getting to you. "You know, I'm a little busy and have things to do, so I don't have time to play with a little slut like you, why don't you go and live to your reputation? I'm sure that there should be at least one male desperate enough around here."

She just smirks at you, but you know that that can't be very good, by this point she normally would have tried to rip your raven hair out. "What's with that smirk? Have you changed already, I thought that by this point you would have tried to gouge my eyes out, you must know how much I would love to do that to you." You say.

"Oh, it's nothing." She replies. "I was just thinking about how you and I have a little score to settle."

"Oh, please, you and I both know that you would never stand a chance against me." You snort while rolling your eyes at her.

"Oh, really? Well, why don't we just see whether or not you can prove that to be a fact, or merely one of your little fantasies?"

It's your turn to smirk now. "Is that a challenge I hear? Fine then, I will accept and show you your place in the world." You say. She grins evilly at you and jerks her head toward the nearest window where she runs up to it and jumps out of it, with you following suit.

You both land gracefully in the back garden, your hair fluttering down as you land, where there is plenty of room for you to show her who the better is.

"So then, ladies first, so I suppose that must mean that I might as well start this off." Iyana says smugly, which infuriates you, as she had planned, of course. She charges at you, using her demon speed, which you have to admit, is pretty fast indeed. However, you use your goddess speed to evade her, using a great spurt of speed to move behind her, leaving her vulnerable. However, Iyana is quicker than you had anticipated, for she instantly turns around to face you, where she throws her hands over her head, and then jerks them in your direction.

Immediately, a great thunder comes from beneath you. You gasp. 'She has earthen powers!' You cry in your mind. A great fissure starts to break and gradually moves to your direction, but you use your powers of levitation to float above it, which you are grateful for, for not even 3 seconds after, the ground is pulled inside the fissure, the very ground you had been standing on.

"Ha!" You yell at her, triumphantly, still in midair. "You actually thought that that would get me?!" You then use your dark powers and teleport to Iyana, taking her by surprise and you throw a punch at her, knocking her to the crisp grass-laden ground.

"A lucky shot, hon, but don't think that it will happen again." She says as she wipes the drop of blood that seeps from her broken lip. Your answer is to teleport back to her again, and take another swipe at her, and immediately after, you teleport a good distance away again, not giving her the chance to retaliate.

"Really? Then why did you let me hit you again." You sigh. "This is turning out to be a much easier fight than I had anticipated. And I had thought that it would be pretty damn easy to begin with." You say while you blow your nails in fake impatience. She growls at you and throws her hands above her head again, but this time there is no fissure, instead, out of the ground flies an enormous boulder that lifts itself over Iyana's head. She then lets it speed over to you, at such a speed and magnitude that you don't see how you will possibly be able to dodge. "Shit!" You scream as you close your eyes and hold out your hands in anticipation, all the while hearing Iyana's shriek of triumph.

However, the impact of you and the boulder never comes. You open your eyes slightly to see the reason why, and then your eyes quickly dart fully open in shock, surprise, and smugness.

The boulder didn't hit you because it didn't get a chance to. It is floating about 5 feet from your hands, being held in the air by your telekinesis, of which you had almost forgotten you had.

You can't help but smile smugly. "Ha! What do we have here? I had nearly forgotten! Thank you Mother, Father! Now let's see if we can use this gift properly!" You throw the boulder away, and it causes such a tremor, that if your feet had still been on the ground, you would most certainly have been uprooted from your position. The boulder lands, but you are not done yet, you still have to deal with the bitch herself. You use your right hand and point the palm at her, causing her to float upwards. She has a look of surprise, and at the same time, intense rage plastered on her face at your actions, but you could care less. You wave your hand to your right side, where she simultaneously is thrown over as well. You hear a splash and rush over to see the damage that you have done.

There is Iyana, wallowing in her misery in the crystal-clear pond that she had been thrown in. She pounds her fists in the water in frustration and lets out an angered cry. You laugh at the scene she is making as you walk up to her, allowing your ankles to get wet by the shallows of the pool. "I told you that this would be no competition. You should have listened to me, you stubborn little slut! Go back home, and try your luck with me again when you have become stronger and more worth my time and effort." You say as you walk off, picking up the book that you had dropped by the castle gates, and proceeding to walk back to Izayoi's chambers.

"You know." You say to yourself. "That was the same pond where I saw Sesshomaru..." You stop speaking, your face blushing. "Oh, who cares? It's funny in a way, Iyana gets to be with Sesshomaru in some way, I guess it just isn't in the way she wants. Oh well, those two selfish, cocky jerks deserve each other." You say. But in your mind, you can't help but find some sense of disgust and loathing at what you just said. You don't want to admit it, but you can't stand the thought of Sesshomaru being with a little whore like Iyana. Come to think of it, you don't like the thought of Sesshomaru being with anyone.

You blush and shake your head profusely, embarrassed at what you just thought. You continue on your way back to Izayoi's chambers, levitating back up to the window you had previously jumped out of after Iyana, you don't feel like going the long way right now. You enter Izayoi's room where she is still patiently waiting for you.

"Oh, dear! There you are! I was wondering if something had happened to you to prolong your journey to the library." She says concerned when she sees you enter.

You smile slightly. "No, no. Nothing happened. I was just taking care of some unfinished business." You say, and you can't help but suppress a small grin as you sit down beside Izayoi.


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: A Fine Line Between Joy And Fear**

* * *

Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

It has been only been a couple days since your little encounter with Iyana, and you still seem to find the sensation to smirk to yourself when you think about it. You can already see the sun beginning to set on this day as well, as well as a soft blanket of snow that had decided to grace the scenery the other day, much to your happiness and contentment, but also surprise that it is already beginning to snow so early in the season, but you shrug it off. You know that Iyana is currently preparing to leave, but you can fully admit that you don't have a problem with that. You are standing on your marble balcony, where you can get a clear view of the carriage that will take Iyana back to her father's lands in the East. However, you can't help but feel a sense of smugness, and almost triumph at the fact that she is leaving. But more so at the fact that she won't be able to throw herself at Sesshomaru anymore. You narrow your eyes and smirk for a second, but then, you find yourself widening your eyes in self embarrassment that you are thinking these thoughts. Once again.

'What is up with me? Why am I becoming jealous over that weak, little promiscuous tramp? She is hardly worth my time, so why does it seem like she is worth my jealousy?' You think, and then suddenly gasp. 'Is that what I am feeling? Jealousy? Towards her? You've got to be kidding me!' You storm at yourself. But when you see Iyana emerge from the gilded wooden doors, with Sesshomaru in tow, you can feel the heat from your anger emanating from your body.

Iyana is clutching onto Sesshomaru's arm as though it is her life support, and with your keen eyesight you can see that she is nuzzling her head up and down his silken arm. You would just love to jump down there and rip her head off as you can practically see the smirk she has on her face. You find yourself slightly growling at her, you don't know why, but you are just so enraged with her. You can still see her cuddling his arm, but you see his head cocked to her, looking at her rather annoyed and frustrated, of which you are happy about. She doesn't seem to notice though that he isn't sharing in her enjoyment. You perk your ears a little more in their direction so that you can hear what they are speaking.

"Oh, Sesshomaru, I will miss you so much! But you will miss me too, won't you?" You hear her purr. Sesshomaru only grunts in annoyance. "Oh, Sesshomaru, are you speechless? I know, I'm very sad to leave as well." She smiles that same cheap smile that makes you go insane with rage. But what you can't take is that she looks over Sesshomaru's shoulder and straight up at you, locking eyes with you and giving you a cocky, conceited smirk. You can't stand it anymore, you have to get down there and give her one more piece of your mind. As a parting gift at least.

You don't seem to be all that fond of doors as you don't waste anytime to get down there and jump off your balcony rail, so that you are approximately ten feet behind them. Immediately, when she sees that you are so close to her, she shrieks and hides behind Sesshomaru, peeking over his shoulder, but at the same time, refusing to let go of him. Sesshomaru looks at you as well, but it is a different look, almost like he is amused by you, but of course you expected that that's how he would look, he absolutely loves to mess with your head.

"Sesshomaru! Get her away from me!" Iyana whines at Sesshomaru, looking up at him with glassy eyes, her lip pouting slightly, hoping that she can coax Sesshomaru to do what she wants him to. You can't help but roll your eyes at her, you don't know how she can still fathom that that trick would work on Sesshomaru.

"Oh, Iyana, _dear_." You say, still wanting to play that little game of sarcasm with her that she had been so fond to use on you. "I see that your memory must be a great deal better than your skills in combat; for it seems that you remember our last, how would I put this, visit well." You say cheerfully, giving her an innocent grin, as though you had sat down to a cup of tea the last time you had seen her.

"And what is that supposed to mean, I wonder?" Iyana bites at you.

"Oh, nothing. It's just that if your memory was as proficient as your skills in combat, well, then, I'm sure that you would have no memory of the last several years, am I correct?" You say casually with a slight shrug, as though you had said something that the entire world should know.

She grits her teeth. "What the hell are you doing here anyways?"

"Ouch! Now I'm hurt, Iyana. I just came to say goodbye to you. Is that so wrong? That, and to remark on how scared it seems you have become of me." You say, putting on your own fake little pouting performance. For a split second your eyes dart to Sesshomaru, who is still, and reluctantly, holding Iyana's arm, but you see that he's not giving Iyana any attention. He is looking at you, his eyes sparkling with amusement at you. And for a moment, you feel mesmerized by his shimmering, golden eyes, almost forgetting that you were right in the middle of a dispute with Iyana.

Iyana doesn't notice that you have lost your thoughts for a second as she barks at you. "How dare you, you little creature!"

"Iyana, dear, don't be so hard on yourself, calling yourself a creature. Not even you should put yourself down that badly." You retort.

Iyana is at this point totally ready to attack you again, forgetting her fears of you, but she is still linked to one Sesshomaru, and even though she miraculously wants to let go of him, he will not let go of her. This makes both you and Iyana look at him in confusion and frustration. Iyana for not letting her get to you. And you, for not letting Iyana get to you as well, but also because you can't stand the thought that maybe he doesn't want to let her go. That bring a churning feeling in your stomach, and you don't like it at all.

"Sesshomaru? What is the meaning of this?" Iyana is the first to ask the question that you couldn't bring yourself to ask. You almost have a feeling of relief that you didn't have to ask him.

He merely points at the carriage that is to take Iyana to the Eastern Lands. "It is time that you leave, Iyana." He says calmly.

"Oh yes." You add, feeling another chance to get to her coming on. "Your father will be missing his spoiled, little whore of a daughter. And it isn't nice to keep him waiting for you like this, now is it?" You smirk.

Iyana growls slightly at you, but Sesshomaru grabs her arm and forces her into the carriage and closes the door on her before she can say, or do, anything to you.

As the horses begin to canter, and the carriage starts off, you manage to say one more thing to her. "Goodbye Iyana! It was...well...goodbye Iyana! And don't forget what I told you the other day!" And with that, the carriage disappears, off in the opposite direction of the scarlet sunset.

When the carriage has fully left your line of vision, you can't help but start to laugh. "Ha! She's gone! Maybe now I will be able to breathe again!" You say to no one in particualar. However, Sesshomaru does hear you, since he is only 10 feet away from you, and even that distance is quickly shrinking as he calmly approaches you. You don't seem to notice though, as you are still laughing to yourself, but when he does reach you, you immediately stop laughing.

"What do you want, Sesshomaru? I'm in a good mood right now, and I don't need you around to ruin it for me." You say to him.

He smirks at you. "You're in a good mood, are you?"

You roll your eyes. "Wow! Is it that obvious? And would you stop that smirking, if you're face got stuck like that, I would suffocate from laughing." You say, your eyes narrowing smugly.

"Why did you come down here? And out your balcony, no less. You must not like to use doors." Sesshomaru asks.

"What is that supposed to mean? I merely wanted to get one final word in edgewise with Iyana."

"Is that all? You only came down here to see Iyana?" He asks, an eyebrow raised.

"What? Is this like amusement for you? To constantly interrogate me?" You ask sarcastically.

"I suppose, it's not difficult to provoke you."

You glare daggers at him, but don't burst out. "Fine, then. If this is the game we're going to play, then I say that I should get a question answered." You say.

He sighs. "If you feel you must."

"I do. So, what is your relationship to Iyana?" You ask. You know that you are being incredibly brazen asking such a question, but you feel that now is as good a time as any to get this out. You were never one to keep questions to yourself. Also, this question had been eating at you for a long time now, and you couldn't bear it anymore.

His eyes widen, but only for an instant as he reverts to his emotionless face as he answers you. "There is no relationship between myself and that licentious excuse for a woman." At hearing this, you almost swear that you hear yourself sigh in happiness. "Why is this of any concern to you?" Sesshomaru adds, his eyebrow once again cocked up, that smirk of his once again returning.

You feel your heart start to race for a second, and you pray that he can't hear it, and you do your best not to show it. "Um, no reason. I was just trying to wonder what kind of man would ever find interest in her is all." You shrug.

Sesshomaru takes another step closer to you. Now he is only about 5 inches away from you, looking down at you since you do only reach his shoulders. You look up at him, calm, trying to hide all your thoughts, but inside, you are falling apart. One reason being that you are hoping by all stretches of the imagination that he doesn't know what you are thinking, but the other reason is that you are once again, transfixed by those lustrous eyes of his. Those eyes that always seem to make you lose your train of thought, and so easily too.

"Must you insist on always lying to me?" He asks, and then he walks away, without waiting for your reaction.

It takes you a while to understand what he means, but when you do come back to your senses, you immediately become frustrated. "Hey! What do you mean by that?" You yell, but it is only heard by you, as Sesshomaru is already gone. You stamp your foot on the ground, to let out the steam that was so ready to erupt.

You march back to the palace, feeling that you might as well use the doors this time, and you proceed back up to your room, however, several scents fill your nose, and it takes you by surprise. "All the female humans servants, they are all near Izayoi's room, I can smell them." You can also hear a great deal of clamoring coming from the area near the birthing chamber. You gasp. "Oh no! Izayoi!"

You use your supernatural speed to rush to Izayoi's birthing chamber and when you reach there you can instantly see many maids and midwives running frantically throughout the halls, several coming in and out of the chamber. You run past all of them and into the room, where you find Izayoi on the bed, looking like she is experiencing a great deal of pain.

You dart to the side of the bed, and it takes you by surprise to see that Kisa is already there as well. "Kisa? What are you doing here?" You ask.

"My Lady! You are here! Thank goodness! Lady Izayoi is about to give birth! Her water broke but a short while ago!" She cries. You look over and see that Kuri is here as well, gathering blankets and cloths.

"And no one thought of telling me?" You yell, slightly angered. You then turn your attention on Izayoi, she is breathing heavily, her eyes closed shut. "Lady Izayoi? Lady Izayoi? Are you all right?" You ask, not caring that the question might seem incredibly stupid.

She opens her eyes, despite the pain; she still manages to stay calm and kind. "I am fine, Akaria, it just hurts so much."

You can't help but pity her, you know it must hurt immensely, a pain that you have no intentions of going through anytime soon. "I know, My Lady, but I also know that you are capable of overcoming this."

"Thank you, dear, but where is Inu No Taisho? I want him to be here. Where is he?" She asks weakly.

"I'm afraid that he has not yet returned." You say sadly. You sigh, breathing in through your nose, and your eyes instantly go wide. You can smell a scent that you thought couldn't have had better timing.

"Izayoi! I can smell him! Lord Inu No Taisho! He's returned." You shriek.

An elder midwife approaches you. "Are you sure, child?" She asks.

"Yes! It is him! I can smell him! He is not far away from here!" You say, excited, and yet impatient at this woman. "Please, let me go find him! He should be here, and I am the only one that is not needed at the moment, plus I am the fastest one here!"

She nods to you and proceeds back to her work. You walk back to Izayoi, where you can see that she is still grimacing in pain, but doing her best to remain calm. "Lady Izayoi, Inu No Taisho is near. I will bring him for you. You are so strong, Lady Izayoi, please be strong for a while longer." You tell her calmly. She smiles slightly at you, only to shortly afterwards once again, wince in pain. You smile back at her and quickly start off, once again using a window as your exit, and running off towards Inu No Taisho's scent, but not before hearing Izayoi call out. "Dearest..." She sighs. You look back at her and then begin on your way.

However, you do not tell her that you can also smell the scent of his blood as well as himself.

You run through the forest, ignoring the thickets and branches that tear at your kimono, as well as your skin. You only receive minor cuts though; you are running so fast, you can hear the air rush past your ears. Snow is lightly falling, only small little snowflakes, but you pay no heed to them, as you continue to approach Inu No Taisho. He has not left the spot you first smelled him, which you find odd, but you think that he just might not know that Izayoi is in labor. But then your mind goes back to the scent of his blood that you smell, and you rush faster, worry and fear spreading through you.

You see the end of the forest, but you also smell the salt and hear the rush of waves from the ocean. You have brought yourself to the shore, and there, drenched in the moonlight is Lord Inu No Taisho, looking out over the ocean.

"My Lord! My Lord! You have returned! You must come back to the palace! Lady Izayoi is in labor!" You cry to him.

He sighs and tilts his head down. "I know." He says.

You furrow your eyebrows. "But My Lord, if you know, will you not go to her? She needs you there, with her!" You look to him, and you gasp as you see blood trickling down his arm, sliding off his hand, and gently falling down onto the white snow, the white and red glittering in the moonlight.

Before he responds to you, though, another presence makes itself known as they too come out of the forest, through the same trail you took. You hear a crunch of snow behind you so you turn around, and there you see Sesshomaru, walking calmly, in contrast to your frantic state.

"Father."


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: The Protection Of Honor, Or The Protection Of Lives**

* * *

Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

Your eyes go wide, and you let out a small gasp, barely audible over the rush of the ocean waves.

"Sesshomaru..." You cry, letting your voice fade in the wind, hardly above a whisper, you are in too much shock to see him here, of all places.

He doesn't even look at you though, and if he does, you can't notice, he is looking straight past you, to his father, and still approaching him. The distance between you and him is greatly decreasing. And now, for the very first time it seems, the look radiating off of Sesshomaru's face burning, you feel that you actually fear Sesshomaru. You feel terrified of him, and you don't like this feeling at all.

"My Lord, please! Lady Izayoi needs you! She calls for you! Please come!" You cry out to Lord Inu No Taisho, but his head still hangs, looking out over the vast body of water. You know that he heard you, even though he does not acknowledge it.

Having said what you needed to say, you retreat away, knowing that that would be what Sesshomaru's wants out of you. You walk, quickly though, to the edge of the forest, but you stop, you hide behind a thick oak, and look to see what it is that Sesshomaru wants from his father.

Sesshomaru's P.O.V.:

You walk up to your father and stop several paces behind him, watching him as he looks out to the sea. Akaria left you alone with him, but you know that she is still close; you can smell her, hiding behind a tree, carefully listening to you and your father. You don't care, though; you have some words to speak to your father.

"Father, do you insist on going?" You ask him.

"Do you intend to stop me, Sesshomaru?"

"I will not stand in your way. However, before you go, you must entrust the sword, Sou'unga and Tetsusaiga, to me." You tell him.

"And if I refuse? Will you kill me? Your own father?"

You can not respond to this. Would you really kill your own father? You have longed to be able to defeat him, to prove that you are his better in combat, but this still leaves you thinking. However, your father continues speaking to you, still never looking back at you.

"Do you desire power so much? Why do you seek power, my son?"

You know the answer to these questions, you have thought for many a night about this answer, and you are ready to tell it to him. "The path I walk is the way of supreme conquest, and it is power that will reveal the way for me."

"Supreme conquest." He replies, almost as though he is deep in thought at your own response. "Tell me, Sesshomaru. Have you someone to protect?"

You don't know what to make of this question, or the reason as to why he is asking it. "Protect?" You question him. You hardly need to think on this question, though. "The answer is no. I, Sesshomaru, have no need of such." You say with a small hint of finality in your voice.

He does not respond to you, but you suddenly feel a great pool of demon energy being consumed by your father. You can feel all his demon blood centering towards him. It is nearly overwhelming you, as you can feel him transform.

He assumes his true demon form, a colossal silver dog demon, as he lets out an earth shattering roar; you look up onto his form, where you can still see the glitter of shining blood, standing out against the silver of the moon, and his sleek fur.

He quickly bounds away from you, towards the palace, where you know that he will go to his human mate, the one due to give birth to his bastard child.

You look off over to the spot that he once was standing shortly ago, still pondering his unusual question. "Why would I have any reason to waste my time protecting someone? Ridiculous." You turn your back to the ocean, prepared to leave this site, where you can smell blood and carnage from the direction of the palace, mixing into the scent of your own father's demon blood. But it is the smell of human blood as well as demon blood. There are more humans at the palace than there should be, you can feel it, as well as smell it.

Your P.O.V.:

You listened and heard all that Sesshomaru had to say to his father. You are astonished that Sesshomaru feels this way. You know that he has an utter dislike of humans, or anything that isn't pure demon for that matter, but you never knew that he could be so heartless to any living being. And frankly, it has you angry at him.

You feel a sudden rush of wind as Lord Inu No Taisho bounds away and into the forest, towards the palace, leaving a trail of blood behind him, but he does not seem to care. You look back towards the ocean again and see that Sesshomaru is walking along the shore, to where, you do not know, but you do know that it isn't the palace, and that has you frustrated with him.

You walk up to him, and he takes a side glance to you, a look that says that he knows that you were watching, listening to the conversation a short while ago. You don't care what look he is giving you now though. "Ridiculous, is it?" You ask him, anger pulsing through your words.

He stops walking and looks over to you, over his shoulder, his eyes glinting. "What is it that you could possibly want?" He asks you.

"You say that the protection of others is ridiculous. I want to tell you that I disagree. And what do you think is so much more important than the protection of lives?" You ask him back.

"The protection of my honor is far more valuable to me than the lives of any foolish, pathetic human mortals."

Your jaw drops, then quickly closes again as you regain your composure. He is really more cold and heartless than you ever really cared to think. You storm up to him, and raise your hand, prepared to slap him, but in a repeat of the last time you attempted a maneuver like this to him, he catches your wrist before you strike. But this time, it is not a playful, teasing grip; it is painful, angered, and cruel.

You can feel the pain surging through your whole body. You grimace, but you remain silent, you do not want to show any weakness to him at this moment. He brings his face close to yours, you are looking him dead in the eye, him the same to you. You still feel that fear of him and his anger, but you do not let it show as he continues his tight grip on your wrist, but you look at him, with a look just as emotionless as his.

"Damn you." You say softly through gritted teeth, the pain really taking a toll on you, your body wincing slightly from the never ceasing agony. But you regain enough energy, driven from your burning anger. "Damn you! How can you say such a thing?!"

"My honor is far more important." He repeats as he brings his face even closer to yours. He brings his lips to your ear, where you can feel his warm breath on your skin, his breath much warmer than his heart. "And you would do well to remember that, wench."

Your eyes go wide and glassy again, you so desire to scream, yell at him, do something to him to give him pain, in hopes that your own pain will go away. Nothing would give you more release than to hurt him the way he is hurting you at this precise moment, but you don't. And although you hate to admit it, you can't. You are not that weak and you know it, you will not succumb to these cruel emotions that Sesshomaru has already allowed himself to surrender to. You've taken pride in being strong your entire life, and that will not change, especially not today, and especially not in front of Sesshomaru. But this is the first time that he has called you a wench since you first met him, and at that time, you didn't know him. This time, it hurts a thousand times worse.

He moves away from your face and tightens his grip on your wrist even further, you don't know how much more pressure your right wrist can take, but you never learn the answer as he throws you harshly over to his side, by your wrist no less, as though you are nothing but a simple object not worth his time, and you land on your back on the wet shore sand with a hard thud. You wince at the pain, but you sit up and look to see that Sesshomaru is far away from you now, disappearing into the deep, dark forest. And walking far away from the palace as well.

You look over to his vanishing form, fuming at him, cursing at him. Your body cringing in disgust of him, as well as the pain of what he just did to you. You grab your wrist and hold it tight, gritting your teeth, you never imagined it would hurt this much.

But you hear the sounds of a loud explosion from over near the palace, you can see the remnants of debris flying over the trees and you remember that Izayoi is still in the palace and that you just sent Inu No Taisho towards it as well.

You forget about all your pains, anger, and disgust and you jump up and immediately use your supernatural speed to take the same path that Lord Inu No Taisho just took, you can see a fine trail of red blood gleaming slightly against the snow, and you know that you have to hurry. You have to make it there, where so many people that you care about are. You leap off of tree trunks and tree branches, using them to accurately heighten your velocity, then when you see that the depths of the forest are lightening, you run on the snow and find your way onto a cliff, overlooking the palace, or really, what is left of the palace.

You come to a stop at the tip of the cliff, looking over what you see below you. The once beautiful, grand, regal palace is now coated with a blanket of flames, encroaching every inch of it, the red, yellow, and orange gleaming against your emerald eyes. You see bodies strewn across the ground surrounding the palace; you can smell the blood and sweat radiating off their dead bodies, their once beating hearts as silent now as the air. But these are the bodies of humans, and even further, humans that you have never seen or met before. You are perplexed as to what they are doing there all of a sudden, and lying motionless on the ground, blood seeping into the snow covered grass.

"No." You whisper, closing your eyes, shaking your head slightly, as though this is some twisted fantasy that you have to escape from. But when you open your eyes, and see that the only change is the pattern of the flames and the rhythm of swords faintly clashing, you know that this is no fantasy, this is very real, and you are standing just above it. You remember, though, that Izayoi, Kisa, Lord Inu No Taisho, and possibly a baby are still somewhere down there, and it is your obligation to go down there and assist them in whatever way you can. You swallow whatever fears you could possibly have and jump down from the cliff, toward the scene of the vile massacre, to help protect those you care for in the midst of this bloodbath, towards the lives of those you are willing to protect. The very same lives that Sesshomaru so easily shunned.


	22. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: Kisa's Request And Akaria's Lament**

* * *

Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

The moon's light is slowly slipping away. The rare night of a lunar eclipse's beauty could never be more wasted on the sight that is encircling you. You can smell the blood from the dead soldiers. However, you have yet to see anyone that is still alive. And that thought does more to terrify you, than comfort you. You reach the palace, looking at it from the other side of a small riverbank. The flames seem as though they will never cease. Small ember flitting and smoldering all around, the only source of light you have, due to the black eclipsed moon.

You perk your ears, listening for any sound that can signal to you the life of someone else around you. Slightly, you can hear it, the sound of clashing swords, very faint, but still audible to your sensitive ears. And you can also tell that the swords and their owners are located in the palace, almost as if unaware of the danger they are in.

You are just about to run into the fire, to see if someone could possibly be trapped. "Akaria! Wait! Don't go in there!" You stop, almost in mid run, and look behind you to the owner of the voice. When you see her, you swear that your eyes mist up on you. And what strikes you with more joy is that you can hear the wails and cries of a baby as well.

"Lady Izayoi! You're still alive!" You scream and rush to her. She is covered by a ruby red cloak, and in her hands she holds a small bundle of cloth, with small little arms protruding from the bundle. You look at her for a second, asking if it is all right, and she nods. You look into the depths of the blankets and see a small baby boy, eyes shut tight, his little hands balled into fists, and crying the hardest he can. His hair shines a sleek silver much like your own. But then you notice something odd, two white little dog ears protruding from the small little mane of silver.

You sigh, but with a mixture of pity, as well as content. "He is a half-breed." You say curtly. She nods back at you again, and looks down to the baby she is cradling.

"It does not matter, I will love this baby no matter what." She says to you bravely.

You smile. "And then where is Lord Inu No Taisho?" You ask, and nearly regret that you have, for her face sinks low, sadness obvious to you, making your eyes widen. "What? Where is he?" You ask her, louder this time. She looks over and you follow her eyes to the fire, where you can still hear the clashing of swords. It is now that you realize that you have only been hearing two swords in the burning palace. You're at a loss for words, so you push out the words that you can. "You don't mean that he-?" And when she nods again, you lower your head. But you think again, and you have another question. "But why is he-?"

She sighs. "It is Takemaru, he insists on destroying him."

Your sadness turns to rage. "I knew it! I knew that he couldn't be trusted! What is it exactly that he wants here?"

"He despises all creatures that are not human. He even killed me so that I might not give birth to a half demon. However, Lord Inu No Taisho revived me with his healing sword, Tenseiga, and allowed me to escape while he battles with Takemaru." She says, sadness brimming her words. "That is why you must not stay here for much longer, Akaria! His soldiers are killing off anyone that is not a human!"

"My Lady! There you are!" A voice calls from behind you. And there you see Kuri, covered in smolders and ashes from the fire, but still alive and unharmed. She runs up to you and Izayoi and once she reaches you, she kneels down to pant, she was running so hard.

You kneel down in front of her and hug her. You may not have known her for long, but you feel attached to her, and you are so relieved that another one of your friends is still alive. "Kuri! I'm so happy that you are alive!" You say as you continue to embrace her. She is taken by surprise, but then she hugs you back.

"Me too, My Lady. Both you and Lady Izayoi are all right as well! And the baby too!" She cries in happiness.

You release her. "That's right! We're all ok! All of us, and the baby now to! But what is the baby's name?" You turn to Izayoi.

"Inuyasha." She says. "His father named him." And she lets off a small smile which you return.

You come up to her and gently rub Inuyasha's ears, he is no longer crying but softly cooing, unaware of his surroundings. "Inuyasha." You say. "I like it. It suits." You say to her and smile back. But then your mind jumps to something horrible and you lose your smile to a horrible expression of fear.

"Oh no! Kisa! Where is she!? Lady Izayoi!? Have you seen Kisa!? Did she escape!?"

"She did, I know that she managed to escape the fire, but I do not know where she is." She tells you.

"I have to find her! I have to know that she is all right!" You scream.

"Very well, Akaria, but don't stay here too long, the soldiers won't hesitate to kill you, even if you are a woman."

"I know." You say, bravely. "But I don't intend on letting them." You walk over to the very edge of the riverbank, looking over the fire, it is slowly starting to die away, dying slower than the people that were in there. Izayoi and Kuri walk up and join you, looking over as well.

Izayoi turns to you. "Akaria, I don't know if we will ever meet again, but I do know that I enjoyed knowing you for what time I have."

You nod to her. "Thank you, Lady Izayoi. I hope that you, Inuyasha, and Kuri can live out your lives in the happiness that you all deserve." You then hug her tightly, Inuyasha in between you two. Then you walk over to Kuri and kneel down to her height again. "Kuri, it was wonderful to meet a bright and happy girl like you. I hope that there are other little girls out there just like you." You say. She hugs you back, tightly, almost like a daughter would embrace her beloved mother.

"Thank you, My Lady, I won't forget you. Promise never to forget me?" She asks, while hugging you. You can smell a small trace of warm salt water as your shoulder gets slightly damp.

You pull away from her and lift up her chin to look at her. "Forget you? Wouldn't even dream of it." You smile at her. Happy with your answer, she returns over to stand with Izayoi.

You nod at them both and give a small smile as you quickly jump over the river and run to the midst of the fire, to search for Kisa, the only friend you have left to find.

You are running at your top speed without going to fast as to miss any vital signs as to Kisa's whereabouts. You push away any stray or burning branches, you get cut every now and then, but you don't care, it will heal very shortly anyways, what with your powers and healing abilities. The glowing embers of the dying flames help guide your way as you wander aimlessly throughout the smoldering grounds, where you find your way to the back grounds, where a small rivulet from the river is slowly streaming its way around and into the forest. You breathe in deeply, simply checking, but you are lucky this time as you can smell her very faint scent, radiating from a little opening in the forest, not far from you. But her human aura seems brittle, and growing weaker by the second.

You rush over to where you can sense her, not caring what is in your path. When you come to her, you sink down to your knees, your face lined with tears. She is lying down next to a tree, you can see her chest heaving, meaning that she is alive, but she is taking large, gasping, desperate breaths, and every time she does, her eyes tighten even farther shut and she winces painfully. You crawl over to her, and get closer, looking her over.

"Kisa? Kisa?! Are you all right? Please speak to me!" You cry.

Her eyes flutter open slightly, and with her eyes half wide at recognition of your terrified voice, she looks up at you. But this makes her grimace in pain again and hold her right side. When the pain subsides she removes her hands and there is a large sum of blood on them.

You gasp. "Kisa! What has happened? Let me see it!" She shakes her head slowly, returning her hands to shield her bleeding wound. You begin to get frantic with her. "Kisa! Please! I'm begging you! Let me see it!" You cry.

"My Lady, I can't. I don't want you to. It can't be helped." She says, her voice shaky and weak.

"No! Don't start saying things like that! I can heal it, and then we can escape from here!" You say, telling yourself more so than her.

"My Lady! Please!" Her voice becomes strong once again, almost like her usual self, but then it calms again. "My Lady, there is nothing that can be done. Your healing isn't enough to fix this."

"I'm going to try! I don't care! I am plenty strong enough!" You tell her.

"Akaria! You are my best friend! You helped and comforted me always, even when this was my job for you. I am going to die, and I accept this. Why can't you?" She asks.

You turn your head away from her for a second, in order to let the free tears fall. "You humans are all so thoughtful, caring more for others than yourselves. You humans don't know when to give up. I don't understand why." You tell her.

She looks up at the small stars, the moon still gone. She then sighs and looks back to you, smiling one of the brightest and kindest smiles she has ever given, even despite her horrible state. "When a person has someone they need to protect, they will do anything to ensure their happiness."

Your mind jumps to remembering what Lord Inu No Taisho was telling Sesshomaru, and how Sesshomaru didn't seem to care. Yet, here is this human before you, bleeding to death, with nothing that you can do to help, and she is saying that she wants to protect you. Your eyes blur slightly, the difference of humans and demons becoming even more apparent to you than ever. Which one would you rather be like? Humans or demons? 'I am not either.' You think to yourself. 'How can I ever be like any of them? Human or demon?'

"My Lady?" Kisa's fading voice calls to you.

"Kisa, I'm here. Please, don't talk, don't strain yourself." You tell her softly.

She shakes her head, smiling slightly. "It doesn't matter, My Lady, I'm not going to be around much longer. That's why I must give you this." She hands you, of all things, your mother's royal purple kimono, adorned with the symbol of the Sun and Moon intertwined, the one that she retrieved from the last fire with her life at stake, and the same one that you had finally worn to the ball where you first saw Sesshomaru.

You give a small laugh at this person that lies before you. "Kisa. Kisa. You never did have your priorities in order. Risking your life for a kimono."

"No, My Lady, it was worth it. Please. Carry this kimono with you always. Do it for your father, your mother. Do it as a last request from me." She breathes deep again, wincing even worse.

You nod your head, your tears uncontrollable. "Kisa! Please don't go! I still need you! I can't go on alone!"

"My Lady, you are not alone. You never have been, never will be, remember that." She says, closing her deep brown eyes.

"Wait! Kisa? Please, who did this to you? Was it one of Takemaru's soldiers?" You ask. She shakes her head no, letting her head sink and her eyes close. "Then who was it? You have to tell me, Kisa!" She remains silent. You shake her. "Tell me, Kisa! Damn it! Tell me!" But she remains motionless, her breathing has ceased, and you know that your very best friend is no longer in pain. You lower your head, and say a small, lonely prayer of passage of her spirit to the Netherworld. Your tears stopped, you slowly lift her up, wrapping her cold arm around your shoulder, you carry her over to the palace, and when you reach the flames you carefully place her there, letting the flames take over her body. "Kisa, this is as close as we can get to a proper burial for now. But someday, I will give you a better one, I promise." You tell her body as it turns to ash. You clutch the kimono closer to you. Like your necklace, you will now never give it up for anything in the world.

You turn away from the flames, away from Kisa, away from the home that you had only just become accustomed to. 'Where do I go now?' You ask yourself. You walk over to the edge of the forest, and you just have to turn around and look back one more time at the home and friends you had gained, but so easily lost as well.

"Well, so much for home number two." You sigh.

"Then allow us to welcome you to home number three!" A deep voice says from behind you, startling you. But before you can turn around, you are struck hard in the back of you head, making you collapse, but you are able to see several pairs of feet as someone picks you up, carrying you deep into the forest with great haste. You hear a tiny ping of a sound as something hits the ground, as you are taken away, but you never see it as you pass out into a deep blackness.

Sesshomaru's P.O.V:

You don't know why you are, and you can't believe it either, but you feel the sudden urge to go back to the palace. Even though you know that it is now in flames and ash, destroyed. You can also sense that your father is no longer of this world, giving up his life for some woman and his child.

You narrow your eyes thinking about those two still alive, while your great and powerful father was brought to such a miserable and ignoble end. You walk through the forest and look upon your once home, or what is left of it.

"My Lord?" A voice comes. You turn around and see your father's general's son, Kaiten, approach you.

"What?" You ask coldly as he walks up to you. You have never had any qualms with him, though. In fact, he is one of the few that you ever felt, less harsh to. He is strong and powerful, like his dog demon father, and you respect him for that. Whether or not he is as strong as you.

"My Lord, both our fathers are dead now. This means, as you know, that you are now Lord of the Western Lands." He tells you, his blue hair that just passes his shoulder blade blowing softly in the calm breeze.

You nod once, knowing what he is saying.

"What do you plan to do, My Lord?" He asks.

You do not answer, you merely walk back into the forest, but he follows you nonetheless. You do not know what you are to do now. But you will not admit that.

As you are walking farther into the depths of the forest, you see a glint of light coming from a nearby tree. Normally, you would have just passed it, but you decide to walk to it. You look down near the protruding roots of the tree. You can smell a great deal of human blood and the warm salt that one normally smells from tears in this particular area. Then you see something odd, something shining slightly, even in the midst of a dark moon. You recognize it slightly, though, so you reach to pick it up...

End Sesshomaru's P.O.V.


	23. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: To Breathe Out The Pain**

* * *

Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

You slowly wake up, groggy and confused, having no recollection of what is going on. You try to push yourself up, but your movements are clumsy, your head is throbbing in pain. You place your hand on the back of your head, right above your neck, and you feel what you are sure is dried blood. Your blood. But you don't really care about that at the moment, more so, where the hell you are and how you managed to get here, wherever here is.

You try to take a good look at your surroundings, but the room is dark and void of any light source. Your keen eyesight, though, is able to figure out at least the silhouettes of your environment as you turn your head all over, your silver hair fluttering around, as you gather in the knowledge of where you seem to be. You do know that you are in a large room, or chamber, the windows are covered by silk curtains. Silk like the silk that you are on now, you are on a very comfortable, and yet nonetheless strange bed. The cool gentle silk feels welcoming to you, and you would love to just rest upon it, your head is in sheer misery, but you have to think about the priorities right now, and at the top of the list is to get out of this room and figure a way out of here.

'How did I get here anyways?' You ask yourself. But then all of a sudden, your mind recollects what had just happened to you. You remember how you had left Izayoi and Kuri with the infant Inuyasha, how you had gone to look for Kisa, how you had watched her die, how you couldn't give her a proper burial, and how you had been taken suddenly by people that you didn't even know, and you are sure that you don't have any conflict with them.

But then again, are you sure? You are in a grand room after all. You start to think that maybe you are in the palace of one of the other lords of Japan. Maybe you were kidnapped as a hostage perhaps? But then again, why? You are not of any lord's family, not even the Western Lord, and his son, which will remain unnamed in your opinion.

You instantly get enraged just thinking about him. Unnamed or not, you did not have a marvelous encounter with him the last time you saw him. It was something that you will not so easily forget. Your mind thinks back to the last things the two of you said to each other…

"The protection of my honor is far more valuable to me than the lives of any foolish, pathetic human mortals."

Your jaw drops, then quickly closes again as you regain your composure. He is really more cold and heartless than you ever really cared to think. You storm up to him, and raise your hand, prepared to slap him, but in a repeat of the last time you attempted a maneuver like this to him, he catches your wrist before you strike. But this time, it is not a playful, teasing grip; it is painful, angered, and cruel.

You can feel the pain surging through your whole body. You grimace, but you remain silent, you do not want to show any weakness to him at this moment. He brings his face close to yours, you are looking him dead in the eye, him the same to you. You still feel that fear of him and his anger, but you do not let it show as he continues his tight grip on your wrist, but you look at him, with a look just as emotionless as his.

"Damn you." You say softly through gritted teeth, the pain really taking a toll on you, your body wincing slightly from the never ceasing agony. But you regain enough energy, driven from your burning anger. "Damn you! How can you say such a thing?!"

"My honor is far more important." He repeats as he brings his face even closer to yours. He brings his lips to your ear, where you can feel his warm breath on your skin, his breath much warmer than his heart. "And you would do well to remember that, wench…"

"Damn you, Sesshomaru." You bite through gritted teeth, angered enough to use his name for that sentence. For some reason, those words that he spoke to you are just ripping at you, like an already used knife. The blade, like his words, has been used already, but it is still nonetheless, painful. A pain that you would give the world to show to him just once.

You're ready to just get out of here and teach him a lesson, so you run to the door that you manage to see nearby due to the little sliver of light coming from the cracks between the door and the floor. You rush to it as fast as you can, but that is stopped short as you are brought to the ground abruptly.

"What the hell?" You ask furiously, moving your hands up to rub your neck, for it's hurting for some reason. But when you're fingers touch cool metal instead of your skin, you notice that you are wearing some odd form of collar, attached to a thick iron wrought chain that is several feet long, connected to a spoke in the wall.

You are trapped here.

You only have a certain amount of feet that you are able to move, thanks to the chain, but you are going to try to get out of here at all costs, you grab at the collar, at least to try to get it off.

Your attempts are stopped in an instant when you feel a horrible surge course through your body, the source being this odd collar. The pain is nearly unbearable, it's maddening, and you find yourself writhing on the floor, trying to wrench this stupid device of your neck. When you don't have the energy to try to rip it off, your hands drop from it.

And as quick as it had begun, the shocking is gone, leaving no evidence that it had happened at all. You are dizzy from pain and exhausted as well, but you try to practically crawl to the door, but the chain stops a mere few feet from it. You are literally reaching out with the tips of your fingers to the doorknob, but it just isn't enough.

"Wait!" You exclaim. "My telekinesis!" You feel stupid for forgetting about such a useful ability, and yet you are ecstatic that you have it at all. You try to focus on the opening of the door, but nothing happens. Your eyes widen in shock as you look at your hands, hoping that they are giving some answer as to why your powers aren't working. It isn't that hard to bring it out. You then turn to the spoke holding the chain, and you, to the wall, and attempt the same thing. Still, nothing happens.

"I don't understand!" You say hopelessly. "Where am I? And what is going on? Why me?" You ask.

You once again have to think about how you had left Kisa, dead and alone, and then there was that voice that took you away. That voice, its haunting deep sound, there was a chill in that voice that you never want to hear again.

This voice angers you more, and so you try once again, focusing your entire being, on getting this collar off of you. You think about ripping it off, and then being able to go back to the peaceful life that you once had, that was taken away by this voice. That's enough drive to get you to try again.

You grab the collar hard with both hands and once more try to jerk it off. But again, it only reaps the same results, there is a shockwave of some electricity that surges through you.

But the surge doesn't go away when you let go, it stays with you, the shock makes you feel physical pain, yes, but it also makes you feel a deep sense of loss and misery. An emotional pain. Whoever ordered this on you is trying to weaken your spirit, as well as your body.

You're so weak that you can't take this anymore. "Please...stop it...please..." You're begging almost for your life, crying, pleading to this metal ring around your neck, tears are beginning to form as you feel your head wants to just explode. And part of you wishes that it would, just to end the pain.

Then, to your luck, and your life, it stops. Slightly fading, every now and then there is a slight electric spark, but you hardly feel it. Your body is numb, tingling and yet cold, nearly lifeless. You take what little ability you can and find the energy to take yourself back to the bed you had first found yourself on, slowly, and yet, as though it is the only thing that makes life worth living, and you collapse on it, asleep within mere seconds.

You shift slightly, and manage to wake up again, your energy having returned, even if only a fraction of it has.

You open your eyes totally, letting your eyes get used to the light.

'Wait. Light?!' You think.

You look around the room, you can see it clearly now, it is beautiful, the large silk adorned bed that you are residing in, there is a gorgeous mahogany dresser not far away, the gilded walls, the oak door, the robed man, the gold rimmed mirror...

'Robed man?!' You think again, jumping up startled. And sure enough, you are not alone in this room anymore, as there is a man, covered by dark robes, the color of the night itself, his face hidden from your view, standing at the foot of the bed, looking at you. Well, from what you can tell, he is looking at you; you can not see his face.

You shift closer to the headboard, the farthest away you can get from this man. He sees your movements, and lets out a light chuckle. He is holding a bowl full of apples in his hand. You are angered by his mockery of you. "Who are you?" You yell, pointing your forefinger at him, the sleeve to your kimono billowing. Your eyes widen.

You are in your mother's kimono, the royal purple shining as brilliant as ever. You look down at it for a second, and in that second, the man is standing at the side of the bed, close to you, making your eyes go wide in an emotion that you have always hated to show. Fear.

"My name is of no importance to you. Names matter not to hostages." He says.

"Like hell they don't!" You scream, furious. But that doesn't faze him, he just chuckles again, and walks out the door. "Wait! I'm not done talking to you!" You run to follow after him, once again forgetting the chain, and falling on your back again, just as painful as ever.

He only says back to you. "Eat, the food is there for you, my Lord know that you prefer fruit over other human foods. I will return when my Lord is ready for you." And then he leaves.

"Oh, give me a break." You say frustrated and find yourself with no other choice but to return to resting on the bed.

It has been several days since you last saw that man, the only way you know this at all is from the constant change of your hair. You have not eaten, drank, bathed, or anything, and it shows. You are weak, and you smell horrible, you are almost positive. However, your kimono, your inheritance from your mother, smells fine, like it has never been worn at all.

"I don't think I will ever understand you." You tell it, exasperated. At this moment you are simply looking at the ceiling, the only thing you can do, since there is nowhere that you can go.

The door then creaks open, and you jump up, your raven hair flying with you. The man is back again, making you roll your eyes, and return back to resting on the bed. He walks up to you and stands looking down at you. "My Lord is now ready for you to come into his presence." He says, like it has only been a few minutes since he left you alone, not several days.

You scoff. "Please. I have been sitting here for who knows how long and _now_ he says he's ready for me? Tell your Lord that maybe I'm not ready to see _him_." You say bitterly, you're eye narrowing.

He laughs, and your eyes widen, you remember his voice now, not from when you first saw him in this room, but back in the Western Lands. "You! You're the one that kidnapped me! You bastard!" You lunge at him, but then you are cut short before you can so much as wring his neck, the shock returns to add more damage to you. Just as bad, just as painful. Your eyes want to burst, your heart is dying in self pity, and the man just watches this as he removes the chain from the spoke, you don't know how, and he uses the chain as a sort of leash to drag you along with him. All you can do is obey, you feel empty now, so you don't bother to argue, you just follow.

He leads you down corridors and hallways, stairways, and paths. You can't tell where he is taking you, you're vision is hazy, you can hardly see him in front of you.

Finally, he takes you within a set of large doors into a monstrous chamber, so large and tall, the ceiling up high is shrouded in darkness, the peak seeming to touch the sky. He takes you down an aisle, all is gold and beautiful, glistening like that of a palace indeed, where you can see many other robed men just like him on either side of you, tall, marble pillars surrounding each side as well, the eyes of every man following you as this one escorts you to the front of the room, where he takes your wrists and chains each one to a pillar. You are now only hanging by your wrists, your legs having given way long ago.

You allow your head to drop, letting yourself recuperate. You are about to nod off when the man slaps you awake mercilessly and then takes a position with the other men. They are all facing you, kneeling on the ground, but you highly doubt that it's to you.

Then another voice that you could never forget pierces the awkward silence. A voice that you haven't heard in so long, but nonetheless, it is the same voice that it always has been. Only this time, you don't like it.

It says tauntingly and amused, "Well, look who decided to join us today."

You lift your head, and look at the man with astonishment, disbelief, and heart wrenching sadness.

You look into those clear, electric blue eyes. Those eyes that always seem to haunt you. No matter what, those eyes could pierce your very core.

You are only able to breathe out his name weakly.

"Ryoku..."


	24. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23: Lost In A Shallow Nothingness**

* * *

Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

You see him come closer to you, in the same dark robes as his vassals, never letting his eyes leave yours. The warmth you once felt from them is completely gone. Almost like it was never even there. Ryoku still approaches you, and you finally let all of this sink in.

You do the only thing you feel you can. Scream. And at who else, but him? "Ryoku! What is all this about?! Why are you acting like this?! What is wrong with you?" You ask him fervently.

He smirks at you, but not that playful smirk that had once made you blush. This one is heartless and cruel, blood-chillingly cold. "What is wrong with me, you ask? The real question you should be asking is what is wrong with you, to think that I would ever be loyal to those weak parents of yours?" He replies to you smoothly.

"How dare you say that!? How dare you kill them?! How dare you kill Kisa?! How could you betray me?" You ask lastly, just above a small whisper.

"Do I mean nothing to you?" You quietly ask.

A glint appears in his eyes as he comes closer yet again to you, so that your faces are mere centimeters apart. "Nothing? Akaria, you mean a lot to me you know. You mean a lot." He replies, but you feel something against your lower back side, and it seems to be crawling down lower, making your eyes go wide, as well as all the men watching to snicker at your fear.

You squirm away from his touch, disgusted, and spit on his face, causing him to wince and let go of you. "I have been stuck in a room for several days without a single chance to bathe. My skin is dirty enough without you touching it and defiling it further." You explain bitterly.

The robed men gasp from underneath their hoods. Ryoku is pissed, he wipes away the spit and strikes you. Hard, causing you to grunt slightly and turn your head to your left, the heat from the mark burning red. You take several deep breaths and close your eyes to let the pain fade. You then return your gaze back to him, seeing his eyes narrowed and the smirk returning on his face.

He then begins to circle around you, like some sort of hawk, examining it's soon to be prey. Your eyes follow him, looking at him while he continues to look at you. And not just your face.

"What are you staring at?" You bite at him. He merely grins at that and continues to circle you, and your little net of chains keeping you down.

You figure that this is as good a time as ever to at least see if you can wheedle any answers out of him. So you try your luck.

"You know, Ryoku, the least you owe me is some answers. If I ever meant anything to you, it's the least you can do."

He stops his little pattern of circling you, and examining you, and comes to a stop in front of you. "Very well, then. I don't see why not, since you will soon be my property. You have three questions."

"Wait, wait, wait! Hold up! What do you mean, 'your property'??" You shriek, alarmed.

He chuckles at you. "When we are done with what we have to do, you will no longer be necessary with our plans. Therefore, I will have you to do what I will with you." He comes closer to you and continues, this time whispering in your ear. "Whatever I want to do to you, I will do. After all, you said yourself that you felt something around me, so I don't think you will mind, am I correct?"

You open your mouth slightly to reply, but he covers your lips with his own, forcibly kissing you. You can taste him, he still tastes just like he did the last time he kissed you, and you are just as surprised, but you don't like it this time. You part from him slightly, enough to bite down on his lip, making the blood from his lip flow onto your own lips. He retreats away, touching his lip and wiping the blood away, staring at you, furious, as you narrow your eyes at him. Your eyes telling him that he would do well not to try that again.

He walks up to you, fuming, and grabs your neck, choking the air out of you, making you gasp for even the smallest trace of breath. "You would do well to behave if you want to stay alive, Akaria, dear. I was able to destroy your parents. Do not think that I will not do the same to you. Now, let's continue where we left off. You have 2 questions left." He tells you as he lets go of your neck, allowing you to get a wonderful wave of oxygen to enter your lungs.

You take another deep breath, and proceed with your limited interrogation. "Why did you kill Kisa? She was of no threat to you. Tell me why you had her slaughtered. There was no need."

He shrugs, almost innocently. "She was in my way to get to you. It would have been far more difficult to retrieve you if she had been allowed to live. For convenience reasons, I suppose you could say." He says, mockingly.

A single tear falls from your eye as you hear him say this. He merely had Kisa killed just to make getting you easier. Now you know. Kisa's death is your fault. If she hadn't been with you, she could have still been alive, and not suffered such a miserable death.

Ryoku cups your face with his hand, as he wipes away your lone tear with his thumb. However, you move your face away from his hand. He smirks at your actions, and licks your tear away from his thumb.

"You are completely insane." You say.

He smirks wider. "I believe that you have one question left. I suggest you use it wisely, since it is the last question you will get an answer to for quite a while."

You think for a few seconds, thinking of a valuable question. One comes to mind.

"Answer this to me. Why do you need me, per say? What value am I?"

He throws his head back and laughs cruelly. You look at him confused as he continues to laugh. But in a matter of seconds, he returns to his calm and collected stature.

"Ah, that is the best part of it all. It is in fact, the entire reason that I killed your parents, killed Kisa, and have you here with me, in front of all my men."

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard that song of yours already." You say sarcastically. "Now I'm waiting for your answer. It's not like I can go anywhere after all, if you haven't noticed."

"Oh, my love, it wouldn't be any fun if I told you! I'm afraid that you will have to wait and see, I would just hate to spoil the surprise!" He says jokingly, causing his men to laugh once again, and you to snarl angrily, not just at his lack of answers though, but at what he just called you.

He chuckles. "Oh, dear, I hope I didn't make my _Lady_ angry?" He asks again with his disgusting sense of humor.

He begins to walk down away from you, but you follow him, completely forgetting that you can't go anywhere. And you have to pay dearly for that mistake.

Instantly, the collar that you still have around your neck again does its job, and very well at that. You are electrocuted once more beyond belief. In reaction, you scream the loudest you can, in pain, which is very loud, and very audible.

Ryoku turns to look at you, seeing you and all your pain pouring from you. And as the electricity finally dies away, much to your thankfulness, he can still see the little shock waves that continue to circle you every few seconds.

He approaches your collapsed form and grins down at you as the thick chains are the only things keeping you on your feet. "See? You are not going anywhere for a very, very long time. I've made sure of that."

You look up at him slowly tilting your head upward. "We'll see."

He laughs at this again. "Yes, indeed we will."

Suddenly, one of the robed men approaches him and bows to him. "What is it?" Ryoku asks him.

"Lord Ryoku. There seems to be a problem." He tells him.

Ryoku's eyes narrow. "What?"

The man comes closer to him and whispers something to him that even your keen ears can not pick up. All that your ears can hear really, are the buzzing pulsing through them due to the horrible shocking you just suffered.

The man backs away from Ryoku, having said what he needed to say. Ryoku just stands there for a second, as the man cautiously backs away almost scared. And you become nearly as scared when all of a sudden his eyes flash towards your direction, his eyes catching your own, making you freeze. You can tell that he is amazingly pissed.

He again comes over to you, and without warning, strikes you yet again.

"Hey! What the hell was that for? What did I do this time!?" You yell angrily.

He, however, ignores your question. He has one of his own. "Where is it?!" He yells at you.

You stare at him, confused and lost. "What the hell? Where is what?" You ask him, sincerely, for you honestly have no clue what he is talking about.

He strikes you again, making you fed up. "Do not play games with me, Akaria. Especially not now. Now where is it?" He asks you again.

You sigh deeply. "I really don't have the slightest clue as to what you are talking about."

"The necklace, Akaria!! Where is the necklace!?" He yells at you, fuming.

"What do you mean? It's right-" But you stop. You look at your neck, and all you can see is that stupid collar, your necklace is nowhere to be found. Its usual spot on your neck is bare.

You gasp, terrified. "What?! Where is it?! Where did it go!?" You scream, horror struck.

You hear Ryoku sigh and look up at him. "Since it is obvious that you no longer have it with you, and that you have failed to keep your promise to your parents, yes, I know about that as well, so unfortunately, you are of no use to me as it is. What a shame too, I would have loved to have taken you for at least one night, but I guess that that is no longer an option, now is it?" He sighs and shakes his head, in mock pity, walking down to his men again.

"Do what you will with her, she's no longer of any use to me." He tells them casually, as if he just didn't sentence you to the dogs.

The men all begin to approach you, glints of lust are just pouring from their eyes, you don't even have to see their eyes from the darkness of their cloaks to tell.

This enrages you, but it also makes you fear for yourself. You don't know what you can do to stop them, you are draped in a blanket of chains as it is, there's nowhere for you to go.

Suddenly, for a mere instant, you hear a voice. Whether or not it's your imagination, or just coming from your desperation, or maybe it's from the constant electrocuting, and your mind has finally given out on you, but you hear a voice. And not just any voice.

"Akaria..." Kisa's voice whispers soothingly. "My Lady, please... You must live... For me..."

Her words bring a strength to you that you thought had been long gone within you. As the men continue to advance closer to you, you growl angrily at them.

"Kisa..." You say. And with that, a bright light radiates from you. You're eyes glowing along with the shine from your body. But your eyes are not a crimson red that they usually are when you are angry.

The men that were coming towards you are instantly pushed back, thrown off their feet to the farthest wall some 50 feet away as if by some sort of barrier.

Ryoku senses your aura's change and turns around to see you in all your glory. He sees you shining a bright white. A pure white, so immaculate and flawless that he can't even look you in the eye, for fear of being blinded. But you can see him, and you see the look in his eyes. Whether it is fear or awe, you can not tell, but you can't focus on that. You can't take this anymore, you feel like the light is pushing on you, like some great amount of pressure on you.

And in this instant you can see all the people that you have ever cared for. Lord Inu No Taisho, Lady Izayoi, Kuri, little baby Inuyasha who you hardly even know, the priests and priestesses from your old home at the Temple, Kisa.

Your mother and father.

But what is the most odd to you is the last person you see, for there is one more. As you look at Ryoku once more, you can swear that instead of a man with raven black hair, it changes to silver, and instead of electric blue eyes, the eyes become a brilliant gold, as you fall into a dark abyss of unconsciousness.

At that very instant, somewhere, many miles away, in a dark, star strewn forest, a similar glow also shines. Just as bright.


	25. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24: Destruction**

* * *

Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

…You have no clue where you are, it's totally black around you. You're sitting somewhere, in a black abyss, you know your eyes are open, but they might as well be closed, it wouldn't make that much of a difference. You try to stand, and when you do get to your feet, you try to find a wall or something that you can lean on to guide your way through wherever you are, but you find nothing. It's like your in a never-ending hole, you don't even know what you're standing on at this very moment, and that unnerves you.

You're terrified out of your mind, but there is one emotion that you are feeling even more than fear, and that is anger. Burning red, fierce anger. You now know that after all of this, the one person that you would have never suspected is the one that is in fact, at fault for all your pain, Ryoku. You never would have even thought that he would be the one to blame, which makes you even angrier at him, as well as yourself for being such a fool.

You call out into the nothingness, doubting highly that you will get a response, but you're too desperate to care. "Hello?! Is anyone out there?!" All you get is the echo of your own voice, calling back to you. You would give anything to have someone that could possibly get you out of here, and where you want to go, which is wherever Ryoku happens to be at the moment. You would give anything to rip his throat out and give him the pain that he had given you, only worse. You clench your fists and start to growl.

But you stop. You can hardly believe that you are thinking such horrible thought. Thoughts of pain and vengeance. This isn't the Akaria you know and are. At least, it isn't the old Akaria. Now you seem to want to exact pain on someone. Anyone. However, a part of you believes that you have the right to think these thoughts. It seems that everyone seems to be either against you, betraying you, or being betrayed or destroyed along with you.

You can't stop yourself, you break down in tears, falling on your knees, and your face in your hands. No one is around to see you anyways, but it's not like that would have stopped you. So you might as well do the one thing that you have wanted to do for some time now. To cry.

"Why me? Why did this have to happen to me? What did I do to deserve this?" You scream out.

'I'm alone.' You think. 'I really am alone now. There's no one here to help me, no one left. They're all gone. It's just not fair.'

You're face is still in your hands, you can feel hot, salty tears falling through your fingers. But you all of a sudden feel a light, shining on you, warm and comforting, and soothing. You don't want it to go. It makes you stifle your tears, your face still resting on your palms. But what startles you is when you feel a gentle hand on your shoulder for a split second. You're surprised and look up, expecting to see someone, but the instant you look up, whoever could have been there, isn't, and the light disperses, leaving you in darkness again, making your face sink. You collapse in despair, having no more tears left, so you close your eyes and drift off. To where, you don't know, and in all honesty, you don't even care…

Voices.

You hear voices.

They are muffled and impossible to make out, even with your strong sense of hearing, but nonetheless, they are there. Not far from you at all.

You open your eyes slightly, but you can't see who the owners of the voices are, however you see figures that you believe to be the speakers. They are hazy, almost shadowed, you can't make them out, you're so weak.

But your blind hatred for all things living at the moment pushes you to use whatever energy you can still grasp from within you, once again bringing back that unknown bright white light.

You hear a cracking sound, something is breaking, like splintering glass, and before you can think, you fall through something, you can see light all around you, you can see everything around you, before you fall to the ground in a crumpled heap.

You hear gasps coming from all around you. You flinch in fear, expecting to see Ryoku and his men surround you again. But what confuses you to no end is when you hear female voices, as well as male. You tilt your head up, where you see a number of humans looking down at you in astonishment and total shock. An old man comes forward from the crowd, dressed in a priest's robes. He seems to try to help you, but you cringe away in terror.

"Stay away from me! Get away! Don't touch me!" You cry. The old man however, comes closer to you, to try to console you, but you're not about to listen.

You again try to get him away from you. "I said stay away!" You yell to him, but he comes closer, which makes you raise your hands in front of you in defense. Without any sort of warning, another light shoots from your hands in a split second.

It pierces the man, almost like a spear. He's stunned for a second, as blood spurts from his abdomen, splashing onto your face and hands, as the old priest falls onto the ground, his eyes glassy, his body lifeless.

Your eyes widen as you sit up and look at the old man's dimly lit eyes. And then you look down at your hands, covered in sparkling ruby red blood, the smooth color of the blood glistening against your skin.

Many thoughts run through your head at this point. But there is one feeling that seems to dominate the rest, it's almost a sense of... could it be?

Pleasure?

You can't explain it, but giving that old human male pain, and then ending his life is making you feel better, and making your own pain lift off your shoulders a bit.

Screams erupt from the surrounding people, making you once again become aware of the presences. You look towards the humans as they look at you horrorstruck.

Your eyes begin to sparkle with an idea. You're going to experiment. If killing off one man could make your pain cease even slightly, then surely destroying more lives will make the pain decrease even more, right?

You use your speed to overtake them all, killing off each one with your sharpened nails. More like claws in a sense. You strike each one down, man, woman, child, young or old, you don't care, you aren't exactly differentiating. Its making you feel alive to kill them off, each person's blood adding to the drops of blood already on your face.

Once every surrounding life form around you is on the blood soaked ground, their bodies' cold, you take a look at your own surroundings, and you are surprised when you don't recognize anything. Last time you checked, you were draped in chains, fixed to a set of pillars, with Ryoku and his men staring you down. Now all you can see is a bright hall, with the bodies of the people you just slaughtered covering the ground like a flood.

You hear a slight whimper, and jerk your face to the direction of the sound, where you see another old man, just like the other priest, the only one you killed unintentionally. You rush him with your supernatural speed, and grab the collar to his robe, lifting his frail, old body off of the ground by a foot.

"Tell me, priest. Where am I?" You ask darkly and demandingly.

In a terrified voice, the priest stutters out an answer. "I-In the Me-Memorial Temp-ple to the Gods and Goddess-es to the S-Sun and M-Moo-Moon."

You narrow your eyes. "What do you mean by this?" You ask.

Near frantically, the old man gets out what he needs to say. "This is the Temple in re-remembrance to the Sun God Taiyo and the Moon Goddess Tsuki, as-as well as their d-d-daughter, Lady Akaria, who died of an unknown cause 200 years ago."

Your eyes widen in shock as your grip on the old priest loosens, and you drop him to the floor as you take his words in.

200 years? How can it be 200 years? It feels only like it's been a few minutes since you were with Ryoku, chained in a dark hall, but it has actually been 200 years??

"It's been 200 years since then?" You ask yourself out loud.

The priest manages to hear you, and he whispers astonished. "Lady Akaria? It can not be!"

You turn to where you had originally fallen, walking over the old man's body, and you see that there are shards of some glass like material in shatters on the ground, beneath a platform. You bend down on one knee and pick up a small shard, looking at the platform.

Now you understand, you were in a casing of frozen light, lost in time for 200 years. But how? You have no idea as to how that could have happened.

Then you think back. You remember the light that encased you when Ryoku had abandoned you, leaving you to deal with his vassals.

But remembering him makes you want to rip something apart again. You hear the shuffling of feet, and simultaneously turn your head towards the sound, where you see the aged priest working to get to his feet, and as far away from you as possible. You narrow your eyes, the glint in them returning, as you leap to the air and land right in front of him, blocking his path.

"How amusing, thinking that you could possibly run away from me. Did I make you stop dead?" You ask him mockingly.

When he is speechless, you smirk and shrug, then with the use of your telekinesis, blast him head first into the farthest wall at an amazing speed, where he drops to the floor.

"And now you are dead." You say tersely, as you walk away.

You proceed down the hall, not bothering to see if you walk on bodies or not, and not even caring if you do. As you walk, you see a glint of light from the corner of your eye, where you see a rather fine display of human made swords and daggers. You reach and pull a swift, gleaming sword and matching dagger, both complete with sheathes and straps from the display on the wall. You strap the sheathed sword to your golden obi, and strap the dagger to your thigh.

You then walk out calmly out of the Temple, where you come upon a small village of even more humans, going on about their lives. You feel that that is unfair, how can they go on about their lives when you don't have that option anymore? Your chance at a happy life was snatched away from you! What makes them think that they can have happiness when you can't?

You walk to the center of the village. "Humans! Where is the leader of this village?" From one of the larger huts another elderly man walks out and over to you.

"Yes, child? I am the village leader and elder. Is there anything we can help you with?"

You roll your eyes and sigh. "Not another old man? No fun in that at all. Oh well." You immediately and without warning thrust your new found sword through the man's stomach and see as it sticks out through his back, his blood seeping down the blade, he being dead instantly.

Just like back in the Temple, more screams erupt, and the people drop whatever they were doing and flee as fast as they can, but that only makes you feel better, as well as excited and energetic. You take to the air, leaping from hut to hut, slashing through whoever is in your path with your sword. Meanwhile, using your right hand to set fire to all the huts, buildings, and trees you pass with your powers.

You pass a hut where you see a young woman that is about the same age that you look, you now being 700 years old. Before she can get too far away from you, you strike her down, slaughtering her as well, not bothering to look into her face. You step over her form, and into her hut. You search through her possessions and come across a few kimonos that you are interested in, as well as a traveling bag, where you put all but one of the kimonos in.

You take off your mother's royal purple kimono and the golden obi, and put it in the bag, then you change into a short raven black kimono that matches your hair perfectly, and you tie it with a blood red obi.

You look at your new outfit. "Fitting." You say smugly and bemusingly, letting a smirk play on your face.

You walk back out of the dark-haired woman's hut, again stepping over her body, where you then move back to the center of the village to see the damage that you have done. You see all the bodies of all the humans, young and old, male and female, lying lifeless amid the smoldering buildings and trees, a dark red and yellow light being cast from the fire, ashes soaring into the air.

"Because my life was so destroyed by the creatures of this world, I will destroy their lives in return. From this moment on, I will work to destroy all demons and humans who dare to cross my path, and all will never forget the name Akaria again." You speak out as you turn to walk out of the village, the sword strapped to your deep red obi, and the dagger snug against your thigh, as well as the traveling bag strapped to your shoulder.

However, you come up with another idea, and before you leave, you draw a symbol with the flames, so that even when the flames die out, the mark will still show. You draw the symbol of the Sun and Moon intertwined, the symbol of your family and ancestors.

But now it is also the symbol of your destruction.


	26. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25: At Odds And Ends**

* * *

Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

It has already been several months since you woke up in the Temple, after gaining the knowledge that 200 years had just slipped by without your knowing. Many villages have found their ends because of you, not that you care. Every time you kill, you feel more and more alive, but you are always still angry, but at yourself more than anything. You thought that killing off people would make you feel better, but for some reason, it doesn't. Well, it did, and it does, to some extent, but after a short amount of time, you always feel just as bad as before, sometimes worse. This frustrates you, you don't think that it is fair, but what else is there for you to do? You don't know how else to get rid of your troubles besides killing.

Sure, when you do kill, the pain is gone for a few minutes, but after a while, it just comes back.

You are walking through a dense forest, trying to find a river or stream, or some other source of water to wash away the fresh blood on your hands, face, and the rest of your body.

You lift your head to try to smell out a source of water for you to bathe. You happen to smell steam, so you follow that scent, and come across said steam, which is flowing freely from the warm water of a hot spring. You're actually happy that you found this, it's been a while since you had warm, soothing water to bathe with, you've been using ice cold stream water to bathe with for that last few months, but it doesn't help all that much. You can still smell the scents of all the blood you've flushed from people's bodies, seeing as you don't have anything to get rid of the scent fully.

You hope that the warm water can help to get rid of the scent of blood all over you, it really is sickening, and makes you feel disgusting, but you are so used to killing by now, that it's like second nature to kill whatever human you see.

This makes you think now. Can you actually be regretting what you have been doing? Do you regret killing now?

'No.' You tell yourself. 'This is right, it's only fair. Why can anyone be allowed to live, when I can no longer have a normal life myself?' You place your sword and dagger on the ground and strip yourself of your kimono, and place it on a rock not far from you, next to your weapons, where they can all be reached easily. You then slowly enter the water and emerge yourself in it, letting the blood wash of your body and float in the water, making it a light pink.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a large serpent demon appears from the midst of the trees. "I wassssssss attracted to the sssscent of human blood ressssonating from one particular sssssssspot." He spots you, still in the water, as you look up at him, and him down at you. "Woman, the ssssssscent isssssss coming from you."

You stand up in the pool, not regarding the fact that you still have yet to cover yourself. "What of it? What if the scent does come from me?" You ask angrily.

"If thisssss issssss true, you musssst be a very powerful demonesssssss to kill ssssssso many humanssssss. It would be mosssssst beneficial for me to kill you and obtain your power." He tells you boldly.

"Hn." You say, calmly adding. "I am no demon, snake, but however, I will not hesitate to kill a demon, as well as any human."

You hold out your right hand, clenching it into a fist, and with all your strength and power of telekinesis, you bring your fist towards you, and simultaneously, the snake's heart is ripped straight from his chest, making him explode within himself, splashing even more blood all over you, making you cringe in disgust yet again.

"Oh, joy. Just when I had thought that I had gotten rid of all the blood I had on me before. Now this. Damn it." You say with gritted teeth.

You sink yourself in the water again, rinsing yourself of the latest yield of blood.

You lean your head back against a nearby rock, trying to relax the best you can, seeing as you never really get to nowadays. You hardly sleep anymore, and you can't ever remember the last time you ate anything.

A rustle in some nearby bushes brings you yet another disturbance, you once again rise out of the water, darting your eyes back and forth, lifting your nose in the air to catch any new scents, but the steam of the water is blocking your senses. You growl angrily and leap out of the water, quickly dressing in your pitch black kimono, and strapping your dagger to your thigh, and your sword to your obi, against your hip. You unsheathe your sword, holding it tightly in your hand.

You now hear deep, scared breathing, and you walk to the place you believe the sound to be coming from. You hear the bushes shake again, making a crunching sound, and you see a young human male emerge from the bushes and run away in the opposite direction from you as quickly as he possibly can. However, that doesn't mean that he can outrun you.

You quickly overtake him, blocking his path, and leaving him with nowhere to run.

"What are you doing here? How dare you disrupt my privacy?" You growl at him angrily.

The man instantly falls on his feet in fear, while replying to you terrified. "Please forgive me, I had gotten lost, and I accidentally came across you bathing! Please don't kill me!" He yelps.

You roll your eyes and hold out your sword, all the while, the young man cringes in fear, letting his black bangs fall over his tightly shut brown eyes.

"Hmph." You snort, placing your sword back into its sheath. "You are not worth my time." You tell him shortly, turning away from him, and beginning to walk away.

He opens his eyes, standing up. When he does stand up, he is taller than you by several inches. But this height difference doesn't make him any less wary of you.

"Thank you. Thank you so much for sparing my life." He calls after you gratefully.

You stop walking. "Ah, but I never said that." You turn around to face him, and are thrilled at the widening of his eyes, while yours only narrow.

You begin to walk towards him, loving the fear that is radiating from his face. Suddenly, as if on some desperate impulse, he thrusts the bag he was carrying with him at you, taking you by surprise.

You quickly slash the flimsy bag, but in the three seconds or so it took you to slash it, the human is already running through the bushes and into the deepening brush of the forest.

You blink for a second, but then you throw your head back and laugh, highly amused at this, you think this is absolutely hysterical.

You sigh slightly after you are finished laughing. "I have to give him credit though." You tell yourself. "For trying that little stunt on me, and getting the best of me like that. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting it. Oh well."

You follow his trail, his figure constantly shrinking, but his scent is still fresh. You're slightly curious of where he is running off to. You calmly walk after him, his scent leading you. You have all the time in the world after all.

After a few short minutes, you are lead into a small village. You walk into the village. You don't know why, but you are curious to see what goes on in a human village, a normal human village. Well, at least one that hasn't already been destroyed that is. Suddenly, the people look to you, and stop whatever they are doing, dropping whatever they were holding, and begin to flee from the mere sight of you, running away screaming.

You can hear collected pleas and cries from some of the people. "Flee! Flee! The Black Goddess has chosen our village as her next target! Run away if you value your lives!"

This makes you laugh for a second. "How kind of you humans to give me my own little nickname. I take that to heart. But really now? Is that the best you can come up with? Oh, you humans have no creativity. What a waste of space, you creatures are." You muse, unsheathing your sword, causing another round of shrieks and screams erupt from the humans as they continue to get as far away from you as possible.

You hold your sword in your hand, but you hesitate to use it. You begin to think to yourself again. Will this really help you and what you are going through?

'I've already killed so many lives as it is; it's a little too late to turn back now. I am what I am, and I can't change that now.' You tell yourself firmly.

You're so angry at yourself and your pathetic self-doubt that you regain your emotionless manner and dart through all the people, slashing whoever comes across your path, while in the process, setting the building on fire, as you always do.

To your surprise, you come across the same man that had chanced to see you bathing just a while ago. You're are prepared to cut through him like the pathetic life form he is, but you stop, your sword still clutched in your hand as he can only look at you in fear, knowing he has nowhere to go as he is on the ground, looking up at you.

A voice appears in your head. 'What are you doing?' It whispers to you.

'I don't know anymore. I don't know why I'm killing people anymore. I don't see the point anymore, it's not helping me!' You tell it back, all within your head, making you really think also, if you're not just hallucinating from all the burning ashes.

'Do you not want revenge on what happened to you?' The voice asks.

'I don't know. I'm so confused. I feel so lost.' You reply.

'If you kill that man, your confusion will vanish.' The voice tells you.

'I don't know. I don't think it will.'

'It will. Trust me. It will. Now kill him.'

'No.' You say.

'Do it.'

"No!" You say, more strongly and out loud.

The man that feared you a while ago, is now looking at you like you are insane, however, the fear hasn't left him even now.

You drop your arm to your side, letting your sword hang in your hand. "Go." You tell the man.

"What? Why?" He asks astonished.

"Go before I change my mind!" You snap, making him instantly run away as fast as he can, and you watch after him as he disappears through the flames, into the forest, and out of your sight.

When you are through with the village, you walk away, sighing. You don't feel anything, you don't feel better. Even that feeling of excitement and thrill is gone now; you're left with nothing at all, except you feel immensely pissed off.

You snap. You totally lose it; you destroy trees, bushes, whatever is in your way in your anger. Trees fall down all around you, crashing to the ground, making the Earth beneath your feet quake. You walk to a large fallen tree and sit down against it, leaning and bringing your knees to your chin as you watch the fire burn the buildings and the bodies, staring into nowhere.

You sit there for a while, just sitting in the silence, midst the crackling of dying flames, when you hear a twig snap a slight ways from you, making you leap up again, and look around.

It is a man, walking out of the flames, towards you. He's very tall, and has long hair, flowing from his back in stringent waves, falling down the back of his dark blue and purple haori.

However, there is something that gets to you about this man. You are puzzled by his very aura. You can plainly tell that he is a half-demon, his scent proves this, but his aura is much stronger than that of an ordinary half-demon's, it's almost like that of a full-fledged demon's.

He reaches you, the color of his eyes identical to that of the setting crimson sun. These eyes never leave your golden ones, as he comes to a complete stop directly in front of you, only about 5 feet away.

You take this silence as an opportunity to speak. "Who are you?" You ask him tersely.

He smirks smugly at you, showing perfect ivory teeth. "You are a very remarkable woman to cause so much damage over the span of these last few months."

"That does not answer my question." You reply. "Now answer it, or get lost, I do not hesitate to kill demons as well as humans, which includes a half-demon such as you."

He smirks yet again. "While I am a half-demon, that much is true, I will not be for much longer."

You leer at him. "What do you mean by that? You are not making sense to me. However, enlighten me, I am very curious about your aura. It intrigues me greatly."

"Tell me, does killing help get rid of your pain?" He asks you, changing the subject yet again.

Your eyes widen in surprise. "How the hell do you know what I feel?"

"I have been watching you and your actions for a while, and I know what you are feeling now." He replies.

You scoff and begin to walk away. "You would never know what I feel. You are nothing like me." You tell him adamantly.

"We are not that different, Akaria."

"Do you need anything from me?" You ask annoyed. "Otherwise, I have better things to do."

He chuckles for a second. "As a matter of fact, yes, I do need something from you, since you have done such a fine job of killing off so many humans. There are some people that I require you to kill as well."

"How dare you!?" You hiss, throwing fire at him in your anger. "How dare you presume that you can order me around and tell me what to do!?"

However, your fire never reaches him, as it is deflected by a barrier that surrounds him, taking you by surprise, and angering you even more.

"It was not an order, merely a request, for it provides mutual benefit."

"Really? How could this possibly benefit me?" You ask, crossing your arms in front of your chest.

"I can help you with your problems, help you find your answers, and end your pain. This is what you have been searching for all this time." He answers.

You sigh. "I might as well hear what you have to say."

"There is a monk, demon slayer, priestess, and half-demon that travel together as a group looking for shards to a jewel called the Shikon Jewel."

"Why do you want me to kill them?" You question.

"The jewel is rightfully mine, and yet they try to keep it from me for their own gain. They must be out of my way." He tells you.

"That isn't much to go on." You remark.

"You will know who they are when you see them." He reassures you. "The priestess goes by the name of Kagome, and she is able to sense the shards of the jewel."

"Very well. Now then, since you know my name, tell me yours, now that we are in agreement." You say.

"Ah yes, how could I forget, Akaria? Call me Naraku." He responds, holding out his hand for you to accept.

You take it, and in a split instant, he quickly pulls you to him, while grabbing your wrist, pulling out a dagger and letting it slice through the skin on your wrist, allowing the blood to flow on the blade.

You pull away in reflex, and growl at him, your eyes glowing a bright shade that matches his eyes, but shining like blood. "What the hell was that for?" You yell.

He smirks, placing the dagger within his haori, leaving you with a last glance at the shimmering red of your own blood, the cut on your wrist already showing signs of beginning to heal.

"Consider this more of a blood oath. Now it is clear that we have a deal." He reveals, then turns away and walks off into the distance, disappearing in a cloud of purple toxic miasma, leaving you staring after him.


	27. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26: Forgiveness With An Arrow**

* * *

Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

You are walking through the forest. You had to use the ribbon in your hair to bandage your slit wrist. It was either that or one of your kimonos, it's the only cloth you have around, and you really don't want to tear the one that you're wearing, it's short enough on it's own, and you do not intend to damage your other kimono. You haven't worn your mother's kimono since you woke up, and even though it hurts to look at it, you won't give it up for practically anything. So you had to let your hair down and wrap your wrist with this simple cotton ribbon. Which pisses you off completely.

It has been, after all, two days since you talked to Naraku, and yet your cut still has yet to fully heal. It's healed for the most part, but it's still a sensitive scar that if touched again, opens and begins to bleed all over again. Normally, even the little scar would have disappeared by now, which you don't get.

'Then again, I don't really even get that Naraku man.' You think to yourself.

"And on that note, it has been two days since I talked to him. I should have found them by now!" You say out loud to yourself, after all, you're complaining now, so you might as well get it all out now, right?

You are pretty upset, more than likely, you're just bored. All you've been doing these last two days is search for this priestess Kagome and her companions. 'If only I had their scents, then I could find them easily.' You think frustrated.

"Only Naraku isn't that smart to give me a trace of them!" You yell to the nearest tree as if it was your best friend in the world and you were just talking to it about the good times.

On thinking that, your expression drops. "No, my best friend is dead." You say sadly. You kick the tree's roots lightly, more in sadness than anything else, and you walk on through the wooded path.

While walking, your thoughts turn back to Naraku. You wonder why he would need you to kill a simple human priestess anyways.

'Maybe she's too powerful for him to kill.' You muse.

This makes you laugh to yourself. Certainly if he could block your attack with his miasma, he can kill a human priestess. After all, you are by far, much stronger than any human, priestess or not.

You shake your head, it's not like you care. Naraku told you that killing these people would help you and your pain, and if it stops you from killing humans, then you are fine either way.

You stop. 'Do I want to stop killing humans?' You think. 'Is that really what I want?'

You're stuck. You don't know that answer. Sure, it can get annoying to have human blood all over you and your clothes all the time, and their screams do hurt your sensitive ears. But then again, whenever you hear a human scream, see their blood spill out of their veins, you can't help but get this feeling of excitement and thrill that you just can't find anywhere else. The way your mind sees it, there are pros and cons to either choice, this makes you sigh heavily.

You keep walking, and eventually you come across a sparkling, gentle lake. You were so lost in your crazy, spiraling thoughts that you didn't even notice it. You see a large boulder near the edge of the lake and you decide to go sit near it.

Then, for no particular reason, you do something that you haven't done for what seems like an eternity. You take off your simple sandals and place them beside you and you proceed to place your feet in the water, just letting your legs flow back and forth gently with the calm current of the still lake, only disturbed by the breeze. You lean your head against the large rock, closing your eyes gently. This is the first time you have felt this at peace in a very, very long time. Soon, the new overwhelming peace takes over you and you find your consciousness vanishing slowly as you fall asleep, the gentle wind coaxing you...

…You blink several times, trying to distinguish your environment. You are in a dark place, the only light being a ring of fire, totally surrounding you, and that's not the only thing.

All around you, and yet, on the other side of the fire, there are people. They are looking straight at you, as though expecting something from you, for your next thought or movement. You walk to the edge of the fire and begin to walk through it, but when you touch it, instead of just simply passing through it, you feel the heat from the fire, it burns you, and it hurts amazingly badly. You've never actually felt real fire before, you've felt the heat, but touching the fire is a different matter.

"Ack." You hiss, holding your left arm with your right hand. You feel blood seeping onto your fingers and you look at your hand. The scar where Naraku cut you is bleeding again, but far worse than before. You didn't know you could bleed this bad.

You look to the people around you for some bit of help, for any piece of assistance they can give. However, now through the light of the fire, you can see these people better, and you understand why they are not helping you with your minor injury.

At least it's minor to them, for you can see that they are covered in their own blood, as well as far worse injuries than your meager little wound. "What's going on?" You ask.

That's when the seemingly lifeless people spring to life. They are yelling and screaming, rocks and sticks from thin air appear in their hands, and they throw them over the fire and right at you. You of course, drop everything, shielding your face and eyes from these pebbles and boughs coming your way. You feel helpless, you can't do a thing. You feel as weak as, dare you say it, a human.

You cringe in a small, curled position on the ground, trying to hide yourself from them. "Please, please stop hurting me." You plead with them.

"Why should we?" The people say. "We asked the same thing of you, and yet you continued to kill us all."

You understand now, these are the people that you have killed, whose villages you destroyed, and whose lives you took.

"Wait! Stop! Please! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please forgive me for what I have done to you!" You yell to them through your hands as the rocks continue to fly.

"How can we forgive a monster such as you? A conniving snake from hell does not deserve to breathe!" They yell at you angrily. They continue to throw their rocks at you; there is no end to those damned stones.

Suddenly, one goes awry and hits its mark. You feel the warm blood flow from your temple, the liquid flowing down your ear and to your neck. Your eyes begin to get hazy and you fall limp back to the ground.

"Please, I'll do anything, I won't kill anymore, just please..." You whisper, but no one replies to you.

You choke for a second, coughing slightly, then you sigh. "Maybe it is better this way. Everyone will be happy, and I won't have to deal with myself anymore."

You let out one long breath and then close your eyes, accepting your own death….

Your eyes open gently and you lean your head off the rock, your feet still in the water, the gleaming sun shining overhead, refracting light on the lake. Everything is much brighter than in your dream.

"A dream. That dream. Again." You say, leering. "That's the third time I've had that dream."

You wonder now. You are immensely sick of dreams at this point. That's the most times you have ever had a dream before.

"That must be the way I am to die then. Like those people, the ones I killed. That is my fate."

"No, my Lady, that is not your fate, nor has it ever been."

Your head turns, and there she is, standing in the middle of the lake, walking towards you. Your long lost friend. She has a misty glow to her, but there is a smile on her face nonetheless.

"Kisa? How can that be? You're alive?" You ask.

Her smile drops, and with that, all your hopes fall with it. It's like feeling the pain of losing her all over again. Your gaze falls to the ground, you staring at your fingers. Her feet stop right in front of yours, and you look up at her again, she was always a little taller than you.

"I am on the other side, My Lady, but I have come back to tell you that it is not your fate to die. Not yet." Even her voice has a slight echo to it.

"Oh, Kisa, I am sorry. I'm so sorry, please forgive me. I couldn't save you then, I couldn't even find a proper grave for your body. I'm so sorry." You beg to her.

Kisa lips turn into a small smile, a smile that shows her kindness and sympathy for you, a sign that you have wanted someone to show to you for a long time.

"My Lady, it is all right. Everything is all right. But please, you must do this one thing for me." She tells you. "You must stop killing humans, demons, anything. Please do not continue this."

"Kisa?"

"My Lady, your soul is so much better than this. You have great powers, instead of using them to kill humans, use them to help humans." She explains.

You scoff and sit on the rock. "It's not that easy. It's too late for me now. I'm so used to killing humans, I've killed so many, they fear me and won't come near me."

"My Lady, just show them the kindness I know you have, and they will see the glowing spirit you truly possess."

"Spirit. Spirit. My spirit was once like that lake, it was once calm and kind." Then you lean over and take small rock from near the edge of the water and toss it into the lake, upturning the water and disturbing the peacefulness of the lake, as the rock falls to the bottom of the lake, finding a new niche within the mud and silt of the depths. "Now my spirit has become like the ripples, unorganized and troubled."

"But My Lady, eventually the ripples vanish and the lake becomes calm again." Kisa replies, and sure enough, after a few seconds of you sitting on the rock, and Kisa's spectral from standing beside you, the ripples disappear from the surface of the lake.

"That is true, the ripples do indeed fade, but the rock, it is still there in the water, and it will remain there until someone takes it out, but I don't think I can, I don't think anyone will ever be able to."

"My Lady, just listen to what I said, don't kill humans. I was once a human too, after all."

Your eyes widen. You remember that Kisa was a human; your best friend was a human. You remember you would have given your life to save her, to save any human, but now you don't know what happened. But a flash of Ryoku passes your mind and you get furious at him for what seems to be the billionth time.

You also remember Naraku, and the deal you made with him.

"Kisa, I can't stop just yet, there is a half-demon, Naraku-"

Kisa interrupts you. "I know, My Lady, but you can not kill those people, it will not help you, you can not keep that promise to Naraku." She says.

"Kisa, Naraku told me that killing those people will help me get over losing you. I'm doing this for you, me, and all that I have lost, so this conversation is OVER!" You scream, and with that, Kisa vanishes as if she was never even there.

When you can no longer here Kisa's voice, you proceed to get off the rock and leave the lake, the surface of the water is so calm again, it's like you never came across it. You look back one more time and walk through the trees, setting back on track to complete your mission.

After walking for a while, still thinking on what Kisa had told you, you come across another site, a village, however, a mind blowing scent reaches your nostrils.

There is only one possible explanation for this scent, this is the scent of old blood and rotting corpses. You, however, do not know this scent well, you always left the villages you destroyed before the scent could get too strong and enter your nose fully like this, and you had always made sure to bathe yourself properly to remove all the blood on your body so at least it wouldn't be as bad as the aura of blood that is infused into you already.

However, you blink and think to yourself, probing your mind. You remember this village. As a matter of fact, you came and razed this village not yet even 2 weeks ago. You jump into the nearest tree and you look through the branches and leaves and you can see that there are actually survivors lying within the carnage, handicapped by their own injuries.

Your eyes widen, and your pupils contract as you see humans with brutal wounds, broken, bleeding limbs, some with only stumps of limbs, lying in the ash ridden dirt, their faces contorted in pain and anguish, rivulets of blood flowing from live bodies, as well as dead bodies.

You think to yourself that this is something you never wanted to see in your long, long life, and you can't believe that you are the one that caused this. But then again, you hardly really know your bloody side when you come to think of it.

You look closer, and you see an uninjured woman exit a hut. You focus on the woman and notice that she is wearing an outfit much like the priestesses at the Sun and Moon Temple, the white haori and red hakamas. You also see that the woman has long black hair tied back, and deep brown eyes, deeper than your golden ones. She has a pale complexion, and she is carrying a bowl of what seems to be medicinal herbs, and she is walking amidst the villagers.

You then see the woman walk over to a bow and proceed to pick it up. You think that this could be the Kagome woman that Naraku told you of.

'But if she is, then where are her companions?' You think. 'Doesn't matter, they could be off somewhere or something.' You shrug.

You continue to look at the woman and see that she picks up her bow and loads it with an arrow. You turn your head a bit to see her better, but you're shocked as you see that she aims the arrow right at you and pulls back the string and in an instant, releases it, letting the arrow fly.

Luckily, you jump from your perch just in time as the arrow hits the same spot your head once was, and the arrow enters the bark of the tree.

"What the hell!?" You yell at her when you land on the ground a few feet in front of her.

"You reek of Naraku's aura." She states simply, letting her arm fall to her side again, still gripped on her bow. "Could you be one of his incarnations?" She asks you, near threateningly.

You glare at her. "I am in no way anyone's incarnation, but however, it is none of your business as to my dealings with anyone, but I guess I shouldn't mind you asking, you'll be dead soon anyways." You tell her, flexing your fingers, your nails sharpening to their claws.

Suddenly, something sparks in your head. "Akaria." Naraku's voice resonates in your head. "Do not kill this woman, this is not Kagome, let this woman live."

Your eyes narrow for a second and you blink several times. "Your life has been spared." You tell her. "Or at least what is left of your life, I can tell by your aura that you are nothing more than a shell of a life, a dead woman trapped in a body made of grave soil." You sneer.

The woman turns from you. "Although you are correct, it does not matter, I am stronger now due to the loss of emotions ascribed to the living."

You roll your eyes, but then sharpen your gaze as she lifts her bow again, taking an arrow from her quiver and loads her bow again, aiming it at you again.

"What the hell are you doing?" You yell at her again, but she ignores you and shoots it, the arrow flying right past you, hitting the tree behind you, but not before revealing that you two now have company as a silver-haired man in a red kimono walks out from behind the tree.

"Kikyo."


	28. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27: Tears, Fears, And White Dog Ears**

* * *

Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

You turn around and look at the man, fully focusing on him. You furrow your forehead for a second, you're getting this weird feeling, but you don't understand it. You look back to the priestess called Kikyo to see her reaction to all this, but you see that Kikyo is merely replacing her arrow back in her quiver and lowering her bow. She then turns around and proceeds to walk back into the village, but she takes one final look at the man, and then she turns her gaze to you, her eyes piercing into you for a split second before she disappears into the village. You hear the man behind you take a breath and then he rushes after Kikyo into the village without giving you a second thought. You stare oddly at his back but turn around when you hear the bushes rustling and see a young woman in an odd green outfit emerge from the same spot the silver-haired man came out of. You hear her sigh sadly as she looks over towards the direction the man just leapt to.

Soon, another man, wearing a purple robe, with a small boy on his shoulder and a woman with a cat demon in her arms also materialize from the bushes. The man walks over to the woman in the green. "There you are, Kagome!" He tells her.

A shock sparks in your head and you walk over to them. They look at you curiously for a second, but you only pay attention to the woman in green. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help but overhear, your name is Kagome, correct?" You ask innocently.

The girl starts, an odd look on her face. "Uh, yes, I am. Why do you ask? Who are you?"

You take a deep breath. "I see." You say, and unsheathe the sword at your side. 'Kisa, after this, I will do as you requested, I will not kill another human again. But I must do this.' You think.

You get into your stance and then charge towards Kagome, ready to slice her quickly and get it over with. The monk, the woman, and the little boy yell for Kagome to move, but she seems to be too scared or too shocked, you don't know and you don't care right now.

You're just about ready to puncture her body with your sword but out of nowhere, the young monk pushes Kagome out of the way, but not without getting a rather large cut on his arm, the blood starting to trickle down his arm. He falls on one knee and holds his arm in pain. "Miroku!" The other woman yells out and runs over to him to see if he is all right.

You jump back several feet to get out of their range. You roll your eyes at all this. "Monk, why did you risk your life to protect the woman? After all, you will be killed shortly after her, so why not wait your turn? Your time will come, after this woman is dead, of course." You say, pointing towards Kagome with your sword. You suddenly hear a rush in the wind behind you and you move out of the way just in time to see a large boomerang flying towards you, but missing by a very fine amount and returning back to the hand of the other woman as she flies towards you on the cat demon. 'The cat demon grew!' You think to yourself as you dodge the woman again, but this time you throw an attack of fire at the woman and she has to dodge it quickly and then returns back to the monk and Kagome.

Kagome stands up and then takes the bow off her back and takes an arrow from her quiver, much like the bow and arrow that the other priestess, Kikyo, had. You smirk to yourself at this. She loads her bow with an arrow and then shoots it at you. You sigh and move to your right, dodging the arrow easily, hearing it whirr past you into the forest. You turn your head to look as it passes and then you turn back to Kagome. "Really now, is that the best you can do? Your aim isn't all that great, nothing like that other priestess Kikyo." You say, and then in an instant you rush to her again, sword raised, ready to get her this time, she is totally off guard and unprepared after making her shot. Again, the monk takes the opportunity to interrupt your plans again as he stands in front of the group, making you stop in your tracks.

"I am sorry, but I can't let you hurt Kagome, so I will have to take this into my own hand."

You stare at him like he's losing his mind but you notice that he lifts his right hand and you see that there is a rosary of prayer beads covering it. He proceeds to take of the beads and he raises his left hand to you. "Wind Tunnel!" He shouts.

Your eyes widen in shock and astonishment as a void from his very hand, sucking up everything in its path, and unfortunately for you, you happen to be in its path. It takes everything you've got just to keep your feet on the ground. You use your telekinesis to keep your feet planted in the earth as everything around you, including trees, uproots and flies past you and into his hand.

"Miroku! Look out!" The other woman yells to him. You turn your head slightly and see a horde of insects approaching you, no, approaching the monk's hand, but he closes it before they can get in his hole. The insects then instead fly over to you and hover in front of you, as though protecting you, but you are totally confused as to why.

"Miroku!? What are Naraku's poisonous insects doing around her? They look as though they're protecting her!" The other woman asks him.

'Naraku's insects?' You ask yourself. 'I see, so he knows I found them, that means I better end this quick and get it done and over with.'

You narrow your eyes and collect yourself, returning back to your calm appearance. You point your sword directly at Kagome, and she takes account of you aiming at her. "Human Kagome, prepare to die!" You yell to her from across the open field, thanks to that void from the monk, Miroku's hand.

You run to her at your topmost speed this time. You are ready this time, no more fooling around; you have to just end this. The monk and the demon slayer stand in front of Kagome, trying to protect her from you, but you are done with all this, you push them away with your telekinesis and they go flying across the field on either side. Now there is nothing in your way.

"Kagome!!" You hear a voice yell loudly from behind you. You look overhead and see the man that had chased after Kikyo, the man with the silver hair and the red kimono leap over you and jump right in front of Kagome. He takes out a sword from his sheathe and you look on amazed as the sword that comes out of the sheathe is much bigger than the sheathe itself. In fact, the sword is enormous.

'Like a fang.' You think quickly.

"Who are you?" The man yells at you. "You must be in tight with Naraku to have his poisonous insects protect you."

You look over your shoulder back at the insects that still hover just a short distance from you, then you look back at him. "While it is none of your business as to whom I make deals with, it is true that I am in contact with Naraku, a half-demon such as yourself." You tell him calmly, there's nothing else you can do until you figure out a way to get past him.

He flinches for a second at the fact that you can tell that he is a half-demon. "Since you are working with Naraku then, I'll have to kill you as well." He tells you, well, more so yells at you. He looks like he has a higher capacity to yell loudly than to just talk calmly and outright.

"I'd like to see you try and kill me." You tell him, smirking. You charge to him, getting ready to avoid him and make a direct attack at Kagome, you might as well get her first and let that distract him so that you can take care of him as well. Then you will be able to go to Naraku and tell him that you have done like he requested.

That's when you sense it. There is an immensely powerful energy coming from his sword. "I recognize this aura." You whisper to yourself, but before you can think on it the man calls out his attack.

"Wind Scar!"

There is a blast of light energy, coming towards you too fast for you to dodge; you know that you can't escape it. Naraku's insects get in the way of the attack, but for all the good it does, they are destroyed and become useless. You're surprised that a half-demon can wield so much power.

"You did it, Inuyasha!" You hear Kagome's voice faintly.

'Inuyasha...' You think, your eyes wide in astonishment at hearing the sound of the name, but due to the power and sheer force of the attack, your world goes black, not knowing if you are falling unconscious, or if you really are about to die.

You hear faint, familiar voices around you and a slight crackling sound.

"It's remarkable that she survived Inuyasha's Wind Scar."

"I know, you think that she would have died right then and there."

"This is because Lady Akaria is the goddess of the Sun and Moon and so her powers and strength enabled her to stay alive."

Your eyes flutter slightly, everything is hazy, but after a few seconds everything returns to being focused. You take a good look around and see that you are next to a campfire, next to Miroku, the demon slayer whose name you still don't know, the fox and cat demon, and Kagome. And Inuyasha.

Your eyes widen as you really get a good look at him this time. Your eyes tear up without your consent and before you know it, you've pounced on him, crying into Inuyasha's haori, hugging his waist. "Inuyasha! Inuyasha! I can't believe you're alive!" You scream into his chest.

"Uh..." He says, utterly clueless as he grabs your arms and attempts to peel you off of him. "Look girl, what is your problem?" He asks you rather loudly.

"Inuyasha, it's been 200 years, and yet it feels like forever and at the same time no time at all." You tell him, looking up at his face and then looking to his white dog ears, which make you smile brightly. But then reality hits you and you sigh. "Oh, but of course you wouldn't remember." You say sadly.

Miroku walks up to you. "What do you mean by that?"

The next few minutes are spent with you explaining to these people all about how you lived in Inuyasha's father's palace and how you met Izayoi when she was pregnant with Inuyasha.

"But wait." You stop. "Why am I still alive? Surely you would have killed me by now, especially when I was defenseless." You then feel a twinge on your nose and you smack it, and a small, and yet, familiar flea falls onto your palm. "Myoga! It's you!" You squeal. There is just no end to the surprises today.

"Lady Akaria! How good to see you again! I managed to explain everything to Master Inuyasha and his companions and they will not harm you."

"Thank you, Myoga." You say to him kindly.

"What I don't get." Inuyasha says. "Is why you're working with Naraku, he's nothing but pure evil."

"He told me that killing a priestess named Kagome and her companions would help get rid of my pain." You tell them, your head hanging low.

"Pain?" The other woman asks.

"Yes." You say and you explain to them about how on the night of Inuyasha's birth the palace was burned down and attacked by Lord Takemaru, but on the same night you were kidnapped by a once trusted friend who killed your best friend, Kisa, and he had also killed your parents earlier, thus having you go live with Inuyasha's parents. You also tell them of your "deep sleep" for the last 200 years.

"That night was the first and last time I saw you, Inuyasha. Until now." You add when you're finished explaining. "But that is all in the past now, it's just that it's been so hard to let go, but anyways, who are you people? I know of you Inuyasha, but I don't know much about any of you."

The group then tells you about them. Miroku the monk with the cursed Wind Tunnel in his left hand, left there by Naraku, Sango, the demon slayer, and her cat demon, Kirara, her fellow demon slayers had been killed by Naraku and her brother, Kohaku, was kidnapped by Naraku and used as his personal servant, Shippo the fox demon whose father was killed by the Thunder Brothers, Kagome, who happens to be from the future and the reincarnation of the priestess Kikyo, the one you saw earlier, and Inuyasha, who was once in love with Kikyo, but he and Kikyo were tricked into betraying each other by Naraku and he was sealed to a tree for 50 years.

"Wow, you're like me Inuyasha. We were both tricked and sealed for several years." You comment.

You look at all of them and then notice that Miroku has a bandage on his arm. You gasp. "Oh, Miroku, did I do that to you? I'm really sorry." You say sincerely.

"It's all right, it was excellent swordsmanship anyways." He gives you a reassuring smile.

"Here." You tell him and old out his arm. You then hold your finger to his arm. Your finger glows slightly and you concentrate. "Such a cut isn't difficult for me to heal." You tell him happily.

"Ah, thank you, Lady Akaria." He tells you gladly.

"Akaria. I have no title anymore." You say.

"Of course." He replies. "As thanks, I would like to ask you a question." He takes your hand in his, making you contort your face in an odd look, staring around at everyone else, especially Sango as her face looks like it's about to blow steam.

"Akaria, would you consider bearing my children?"

Your jaw practically hits the ground as an earsplitting slap resounds through the forest. "Oh! Are you all right!? I'm sorry!" You cry, surprised at your own reaction.

"Akaria! It's all right! He deserved it, he does that to all beautiful girls. Don't worry, Sango will take care of him." Kagome reassures you, which makes you laugh, and soon everyone else does as well. But suddenly you begin to cough, you haven't healed fully, and you pass out again, falling over into someone's arms, everything red before it turns to blackness again.

You wake up yet again, but this time you are near a flowing river, you can hear the water flow by. You open your eyes and see Kagome placing a wet cloth on your forehead.

"Hey, you're awake." She says. "That's good."

"Yes, thank you for helping me again. I don't know what to say." You tell her, getting into a sitting position.

"It's all right. I understand." She says.

"How can you be so nice to me after I tried to kill you?" You ask her.

"The best thing for the heart is to be kind to others." She answers.

You smile.

"What is it?" She asks. "Something on my face?"

"Oh no, no!" You tell her. "It's just that my friend Kisa told me nearly the same thing once. So where is everyone else?"

"Either getting food or firewood." She replies.

"Excuse me! Can someone please help me?" A young voice comes.

You turn and see a small, young, human girl running towards the 2 of you.

"Rin, it's you." Kagome says to the girl.

"Kagome! Please help! Ah-Un is hurt!" She says, near crying as she runs into Kagome's arms. Kagome hugs her back.

"It's all right Rin, we can help Ah-Un." She tells the young girl.

"Akaria, you healed Miroku, do you think you could help Rin heal Ah-Un?" She asks you sweetly.

"Uh, sure. But who is Ah-Un?" You ask.

"Miss, can you please help Ah-Un?" The girl, Rin asks you with sweet, sparkling eyes that make your heart just have to agree.

"Of course, take me to this Ah-Un then." You tell her, smiling. Kagome gets up to come with you, but you hold her back. "It's ok, Kagome, I'll take care of this, you just get back to the rest of the group and tell them that I'll be back in a couple minutes."

She nods and walks off back to the direction of the group as the girl grabs your hand and leads you to where this "Ah-Un" is.

Soon you come across a good sized two-headed dragon. Your eyes widen. "Is this Ah-Un?" You ask, pointing to the mass of dark green scales, but you see that the poor creature is hunched over, licking its claw with one of its heads, blood seeping from a wound on it.

You maneuver over to the dragon calmly and quietly as not to scare it. It looks up at you and starts to edge away, baring its fangs. "Shhhh." You whisper gently to it. "I'm only here to help."

You kneel down next to it and look at the wound. "Poison, I presume."

"A large insect got to Ah-Un when he was trying to save me!" The girl cries sadly.

'Insect!?' You think. 'Oh, damn.'

You hold out your right index finger like you did when you healed Miroku and place the finger on Ah-Un's wound. You close your eyes and let the glow heal the injury. "There. That should take care of it." You say. "Your dragon will be all right." You tell the girl.

"Thank you, lady! Thank you!" She says and hugs you tightly.

"You're welcome." You laugh. "But my name is Akaria, you can call me that."

"Thank you, Lady Akaria!" She laughs with you.

"Anytime. Well, I had better get back." You tell her, beginning to get up.

But then suddenly Rin squeals happily for some reason and runs over behind you.

"You've returned Lord Sesshomaru!"


	29. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28: That Unforgettable Aura**

* * *

Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

Lord Sesshomaru's P.O.V.:

You had thought you had gotten an excellent lead to Naraku's whereabouts; his scent had been really strong these last several days. So you had decided to take Jaken, your imp assistant, along with you as usual, even though his constant bickering annoyed you to no end. You had left Rin, your human ward with your beast of burden, whom she had named Ah-Un. You had never really bothered to give him a name even though you have had him for quite a while now.

You were very sure that you were on the right trail to find Naraku, his scent was so strong it was almost nauseating, smelling his that inferior creature's scent, but then for no apparent reason, his scent vanished, much to your great anger and frustration. You could find no reasonable explanation for this, but then again, nothing that concerned Naraku was ever reasonable and you had to admit that it was strange that he would let down his guard long enough for you to smell him out. He was scheming something again, you just knew it, but what, that was something you didn't know. It could be anything, when it came to that conniving bastard.

You decide that there is no point to continue searching for Naraku for the time being, now that his scent has dispersed and you can not make it out even slightly anymore, so you turn around and begin to walk back to where you had left your ward.

Suddenly, a different scent crosses your nose as you gently inhale. You instantly sharpen your senses to smell it more intricately. The scent is very faint, but you recognize it nonetheless, and it makes your body stop in its tracks. It is the scent of your dragon, the one you left with Rin. You know that this can not bode well, so you immediately run at your greatest speed, leaving your servant imp in your dust.

In practically no time at all, you make it back to the secluded forest edge where you had left the small girl with your dragon. You take in a deep breath to make sure that it was Ah-Un's blood that you had smelled earlier, and indeed it is.

"You've returned Lord Sesshomaru!" You hear Rin's small and yet happy voice as she runs towards you, a smile evident on her tiny face. However, she is not whom your attention is focused upon. You are looking over towards the direction of your dragon, and even more so, the figure that you see kneeled beside him. The _**female**_ figure. The female figure that for some reason looks incredibly familiar. You see that she is bent over on her knees as though she had been tending to him of the blood-ridden injury you had detected.

You watch as her body goes rigid in its place, as though she has seen something that she never wants to see again. You narrow your eyes to small slits. You can rest assured that you will show this woman something even worse that she shall fear.

You see her slowly rise to her feet, but it takes her quite a while, like she is too weak to stand on her own. She turns around slowly, as though she is a small child, trying to find the courage to face her fears. When she is turned fully around, she holds her head up steadily, her eyes slightly quivering, but staring at your own eyes fiercely.

You feel your eyes widen and lose focus for a fraction of a mere second but you quickly regain composure to not let the fact be known that you are shocked beyond words.

Of course she looks familiar; you can't believe you were such a fool. But then again, it is amazing that you would recognize her after more than 200 years. Also, it is amazing that you recognized her at all when you didn't even recognize her scent.

That is what confuses you. Why is it that you did not smell her scent a long ways away, when you had caught scent of Rin? In fact, you should have smelled her even farther away since her aura should undoubtedly be many times stronger than Rin's.

You sniff the air once again, but very discreetly, and you notice that this woman here doesn't really seem to have a scent about her for some reason, and you can also sense that her aura is fading. Slowly, but still fading. You can't help but wonder why.

Your P.O.V.:

"You've returned Lord Sesshomaru!"

Your eyes widen to their fullest as you hear what Rin has just said.

You rest your palms on the grass to steady yourself. You can't believe this is happening.

You were just getting ready to return back to Kagome and the others after completing what had been asked of you. You had actually felt happy that you had done something nice for someone after such a long time. You had nearly forgotten what that feeling was like. All you had been feeling these last few months since you had been released was anger, vengeance, and loneliness.

You begin to get to your feet, but all of a sudden, you feel very weak.

'Maybe I feel weak because I used my powers to heal Ah-Un.' You think. 'Then again, it was such a quick and easy procedure. I shouldn't feel this weak over something so simple as that.'

You feel very dizzy and you have to take a deep and jagged breath just to get your vision to focus again.

Ah-Un lifts his head, or heads, and looks into your eyes warily from its 4 golden ones, as if asking you if you are all right. You pat the dragon's heads reassuringly to let it know that you are fine, and also to help steady yourself as you rise to your feet.

Ah-Un turns its focus over to where Rin ran over to, and then returns the gaze back to you, its eyes looking as though it is asking a question. You lower your head and sigh, then look back into its eyes and nod, knowing what the dragon is asking. Ah-Un's eyes seem to soften a little.

You turn yourself around to look into the direction where Rin had run, but somewhat slowly, you feel so weak. When you get a steady footing, you look up, and just as you had predicted, Rin is standing in front of a tall and, you know for a fact, powerful man.

You look into the man's golden yellow eyes as furiously as you can muster out of your exhausted body. You know full well who he is, but you don't know if he knows who you are. You're not sure if he recognizes you at all, and if he doesn't, well, you really don't want to bring it up then.

You scan his face. It looks like he has changed some. His face looks colder, more stoic, if that was ever possible. But you can't help but wonder. 'Rin is a human, that I can tell easily. Since that is so, what is _**he**_ doing with this little human girl? From what I can recall, he used to despise humans. What could have changed?'

Lord Sesshomaru's P.O.V.:

You return the woman's gaze, all the while looking at the differences in her. She looks like she has aged somewhat, of course, like you, but not very much, due to the longevity of both of your lives. She also looks a great deal more mature, not as innocent or as fun loving as you remember she once was.

Her skin is slightly darker, closer to a dark shade of tan, however; she could have never looked paler. She looks almost sickly, like she could fall over at any second, but it is in her eyes that you can truly see that she has the will power to take down whoever happens to get in her way. You don't remember that look in her eyes.

You hear Rin, standing right in front of you, most likely talking to you the entire time, but you haven't heard her until now. Which is saying something, considering your incredibly keen ears.

"My Lord, I'm so glad you've come back! Ah-Un was-" She starts to say.

"My Lord! Please wait for me! Don't leave me!" You can hear the high-pitched voice of Jaken as he makes his way through the forest you exited a long while ago. You feel the small imp run into your leg, aggravating you, even though you hardly even feel it.

Of course, as usual when Jaken doesn't look where he is going and runs into you, his flood of incessant apologies flows out of his mouth, making you grit your teeth in irritation.

Jaken gets on his little green knees and bows down before you, bowing and squabbling profusely.

"Please forgive me, My Lord. I was not looking where I was going and ran into you on accident. Please don't hurt me, My Lord, I meant no harm. I-What is this?" He stops his bickering as he too spots what, or rather whom, you are looking at.

You see the woman's eyes fall upon Jaken, as though surprised and confused, but then her eyes immediately return to look back at you, as though she has to look at you.

"My Lord, what is that pathetic looking woman doing here? Do not fret My Lord, I will get rid of her for you!"

Jaken walks, or really waddles, for lack of better words, in front of you, the Staff that you had given him some years ago propped up and ready for an attack.

You look up to see the woman's reaction to Jaken's challenge, but she seems unfazed, but still she looks weak and tired, and yet amused at the imp. You really wouldn't be able to blame her.

"Jaken." You call him sternly.

Jaken stops immediately and turns to face you. "But My Lord!"

"Enough, Jaken." You repeat his name, even more strictly. Only a fool would ignore your command when used in such a tone. And Jaken is no fool. He can be incredibly foolish, yes, but he does have some common sense about him.

Rin then comes in between you and Jaken to get her point in. "My Lord, please don't hurt the nice lady! She helped Ah-Un when he was injured from a large insect!" She cries in defense of the woman.

'Insect.' You think for a second.

"You stupid girl! Anyone can see that that woman is far too weak to heal herself, let alone Ah-Un! She is nothing but a pathetic weakling!" Jaken yells at the girl.

"No, Master Jaken! You're wrong! She helped Ah-Un! She did! I asked her to, and she did!" Rin persists.

You, however, are not paying attention to either anymore. Not that you were, really, for that matter. You've had enough of their arguing, so you walk in between them, towards the woman, which ceases their voices instantly.

All the while you walk up to her, which is not that great a distance anyways, she maintains her gaze at your eyes, watching you, but you can see her vision focus vary every now and then. You can tell she is working hard to keep herself standing.

Your P.O.V:

You watch him fervently, never letting your gaze leave his eyes. He's looking into your eyes as well of course, as though challenging your strength. You know he knows that you feel weak, which isn't good for you.

You watch as he walks in between the 2 small arguers, and in doing so, ends their quarreling, and he walks in your direction, heading towards you.

Ah-Un rises on its feet and stands beside you as though supporting you and defending you, even though the man approaching you happens to be its master. You can't help but think how intelligent this creature standing beside you is, standing strong due to your healing, returning its ability to stand once again.

The man stands before you fully now, and you have to crane your neck slightly in order to keep looking in his eyes, but you let your face show a look of innocent confusion.

He glares down at you. "You." He says.

You walk up closer to him, as though accepting his so-called challenge, an idea fresh in your head. You bow low to him, your dark hair flowing over both shoulders, covering your face. You hold this stance for a couple seconds then stand up straight once again.

"Lord Sesshomaru, I believe Rin said you were? Please forgive me of my intrusion, Rin requested that I aid her with her dragon, Ah-Un, for the dragon was injured, but now that I have completed the task, I bid you farewell and I shall be on my way."

After all, you did tell yourself that if he didn't recognize you, you would not press the matter, and that is something that you will carry out.

And the farther away from him you are, the better off you will be.

In all honesty, you just want to get back to Kagome and the gang to thank them for their kindness. After that, well, you'll just have to see what happens.

You look up at the Lord Sesshomaru to see his response to your statement, but he makes no response. All he does is stare down at you intently; you could count the number of times he blinks on one hand. You have a feeling that he knows, but you know it's in your best interest not to provoke his memories. Some time ago, if you had ever seen him again, you would have done everything in your power to make him suffer, after all that he did to you in the past, but something is telling you not to do anything to him.

Could it be what Kisa and Kagome told you? About being kind to others being the best way to deal with the pain of the heart?

Or could it be that you see Rin there, holding onto his hakama pants as a young daughter would to her beloved father when she is excited about the littlest thing?

Either way, you've made up your mind. What happened in the past happened in the past, and Lord Sesshomaru of the Western Lands is only a faint memory of your long life. You quickly look past his head, to the direction of the West and see the sun is near ready to set, you know what that means, and you know that you have to get away from him fast.

"Um, well, I know you must be incredibly busy, Lord Sesshomaru, and I will delay you no longer. Again, please forgive me for the intrusion. I am glad that your dragon is in better health now, so I will take my leave." You bow again and quickly side-step around him, back to the forest where Rin had first taken you to help Ah-Un.

However, the second you pass him, your arm brushes his gently, like a whisper. You hardly even notice, you're walking much too fast anyways, but at that very second, a bright and luminous white glow lights up the entire clearing.

You stop in your tracks, your back facing him, but you quickly turn around, you have to shield your eyes for a second, and then the light dies down, only for you to see that he is facing you now as well. He has not left his spot, but he is looking at you again, while you are looking at the vicinity of his chest, the source of the light. You gasp sharply, hardly able to believe this.

"How can this be!?"


	30. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29: Two-Way Betrayals**

* * *

Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

* * *

You can not believe what you are seeing! After all this time, you had thought you had lost it forever and yet he...

You look again at his chest, just above his armor, right in the crevice of his kimono. You know that's where the blinding glow came from. It's died down, but you would know that feeling the glow gave you from anywhere. It was a feeling of familiarity, of calmness and serenity, feelings that you haven't felt in quite a while.

You can feel your eyes get glassy and filled with tears as the feeling overwhelms you, but you blink them away quickly, shaking your head vigorously as a great feeling of anger defeats the first feeling and washes over you. It is uncontrollable, unbridled, and unrelenting fury.

You look the man before you dead in his liquid golden eyes, as your own golden ones begin to turn a crimson red to match your anger.

Even through all your killing of humans and demons, all of which were really just in the wrong place at the wrong time, you did not even get close to as angry and furious as you are right now. You unsheathe your sword and get into a strong fighting stance. You see him also unsheathe one of his two swords, but he does not get into a fighting stance like you, he stands there, waiting to see what you are making out of all of this. Waiting for you to make the first move.

You can almost feel your canine teeth extend to sharp razors, ready to touch your lower lip as they change to fangs. Forget how weak you were feeling before, this has given you enough energy to take him down.

You walk closer to him, step by step, slowly and foreboding. All the while as you approach him, he just looks at you. The way he stares at you through his sharp eyes, you just can't describe that look.

But in reality, you really don't even care at the moment.

You break out in a full out run and swing your sword at him, going for his throat, but he parries it, holding his sword out against your own. You use all your strength to hold out your own against him. You have to admit, he is even stronger than he looks.

And he's always looked amazingly strong to begin with.

You can't take it anymore. You push his sword away from your own and leap back. You'll have to come at it another way.

You straighten yourself as he does the same. You again charge at him, your sword positioned and ready for another attack.

"Akaria!? Akaria!? It's been near an hour now! Where are you!?"

You hear Kagome's voice coming from behind the trees, calling to you. She sounds concerned.

You flinch for a second, doubting if you should continue your attack while Kagome and the others are nearby. You look over to Sesshomaru. His nostrils are flared; he heard Kagome's voice as well. Well, obviously, anyone within 300 feet could have heard her.

He looks back to you the second you look back at him. You see his eyes narrow and his lips upturn into a sly smirk. He knows what you are thinking, that maybe you should forfeit for the moment while they are around. You had after all, just gained their favor. If they see you like this then they will most likely think that it was all an act and that you are really here to do exactly what you had initially told them you were doing, to destroy.

That's a risk you're willing to take. You continue to carry out your attack.

You once again run to him as fast as you can in regular speed, but you decide to kick it up a notch. You use your greatest amount of speed to circle him and stop right behind him, ready to stab him. But he foresaw that you would do that, so he, equally as quick, turns around and instead copies you, ending up behind you. It's all you can do to keep him from ripping a hole in your flesh with his sword.

"There you are Akaria! We were wondering what had happened to you after you had helped Rin and-" Kagome stops in her tracks as she sees you and Sesshomaru's swords clashing, the sound reverberating throughout the enclosure of the forest.

Soon after, Inuyasha and the others make it out of the trees behind her and enter the field you are in. They are all shocked and confused as to what it is you are doing.

"Hey! Akaria! Do you know who you're fighting? That's my brother, and only I can defeat him!" You hear Inuyasha yell.

"Leave me alone you guys! I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself against this coward!" You yell to them at Sesshomaru's face as you hold your sword against his.

"She's not going to listen to us, Inuyasha!" Kagome tells him.

"Kagome!" You hear Rin's voice. She must have run over to Kagome and the others. "Why is that nice Lady Akaria fighting Lord Sesshomaru?"

"I don't know, Rin." Kagome replies to the young girl.

"She's going to get herself killed! Oh well, not much of a loss there." Inuyasha murmurs the last part, but Kagome hears it.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome gasps angrily. "What a horrible thing to say! Sit boy!"

You hear a loud thud behind you, but that doesn't stop you from swinging your sword back and forth furiously. You're so worked up that you're hardly using any swordsmanship form whatsoever.

"Inuyasha does have a point though." You hear the monk, Miroku's, voice. "Why is she fighting Sesshomaru?"

"And so furiously too." Sango adds.

"You all seem to have already forgotten that Lady Akaria lived in Master Inuyasha's father's palace back before Master Inuyasha was born. It is only natural that she knew Lord Sesshomaru."

"Myoga! What are you doing here?" You hear Kagome amidst the sounds of your swords. "Usually you would have run away by now when there's danger nearby!"

"That's beside the point!" Myoga defends himself.

Inuyasha gets out of his little hole, dirt covering his face. "All right then, Myoga, if you know all about this then tell us. Why is Akaria fighting my brother?"

"Well, actually Master Inuyasha, even I do not know the answer to that question."

Naraku's P.O.V.:

You walk calmly and smugly throughout the halls of your darkly lit castle. The entire area of your castle is seeping with your highly poisonous miasma, which helps to further tear away at the rotting flesh of the dead bodies of the humans that once occupied the castle. Before you took it over, that is.

Truly, you have to admit, that that is what you live for, the pain and torment of others. To watch them suffer, and then to gain from it. There isn't a greater pleasure in all the world.

Which is why you would love to see that Inuyasha suffer, him and his "friends". They have been searching you out for quite a while now, you know that well, you think with a hint of humor, but you know that they will never get to you before you have the chance to kill them.

You can't help but think about how easy it was for you to trick her into doing your bidding. She was practically more than willing. You sensed much confusion and pain in her that day you met her. It was really by pure chance that you had even come across her, but you had heard of a woman killing every human in sight a while ago, so of course you looked into it, and that's how you found her. However, what everyone seemed to have missed besides you was the reason as to why she was committing her actions in the first place. So of course, you knew how to feed off that, and you promised her that by killing the young woman Kagome and her friends that her pain would end. Of course she agreed and promised to you that she would, and you knew that she had a great aura, which would make it all the more easier for her to kill them.

Although, that wasn't the only thing you liked about her for some reason. Her amazing power, strength, and beauty have just not left your mind since you first saw her. You were amazed at how beautiful one woman could be, and yet, at the same time have a great fierceness about her as well.

Possibly once she has completed her task, you could...

"Naraku..." You hear a small, emotionless voice call out to you as your incarnation, Kanna, materializes from the shadows behind you. "Naraku... something is wrong."

You look into her dark, bottomless eyes that contrast highly with her pure white form. Her skin, her kimono, and her hair are all the brightest white that matches the color of new snow. Her emotions, or lack thereof, are just as blank.

You see her mirror is not reflecting anything at the moment, but you know that she can sense something amiss regardless.

"What is it, Kanna?" You ask her absentmindedly. You see her bow her head a little to look to her mirror as it glows brightly and as the light dies down you come across the images of what is occurring outside your castle's walls.

There she is, the goddess you made a pact with, Akaria. Her face is so smooth and calm, a true symbol of grace and power, but you can tell that she has been injured, her porcelain skin temporarily damaged by scratches and bruises scattered around her face, and yet she is laughing, her sparkling teeth gleaming in a brilliant smile.

You furrow your eyebrows, trying to make something of this. What is she doing? She should be out killing that Kagome woman and her companions as was agreed between the 2 of you, not laughing. As a matter of fact, the last time you saw her, you didn't even know that she knew how to laugh. At least not like that, laughing happy and content. Something is not right.

But then you see the reason why. She is sitting with Inuyasha and his friends. You can see the monk has a bright red mark in the shape of a hand on the left side of his face, but they are still laughing nonetheless.

Immediately you are angry. That woman betrayed her promise to you! You will make her pay for this!

You continue to look into the mirror and see that she suddenly coughs and keels over, but Inuyasha catches her quickly before her head hits the ground. He picks her up and calls to Kagome to help him take care of her, and then they walk over to a nearby river where Inuyasha lays her down, rather gently too, quite unlike him, and Kagome begins to work on her.

You just sit there for a while looking at Akaria's face in the mirror's image, her eyes are closed peacefully, as if she were in a deep sleep. As if she were a porcelain statue laid there for him to look at. Your fingers tense quickly into a fist and then relax.

After a few minutes she comes to and begins to talk to Kagome. You continue to watch her as a young girl runs within the mirror's view and over to Akaria and Kagome, panicked and afraid. You recognize the girl; it is the dog Sesshomaru's young ward, Rin, the one you had Kagura kidnap not too long ago. There was no real purpose to kidnapping the girl, but she was of use against Sesshomaru. She really is his one true weakness.

You watch Rin take Akaria's hand and lead her away. Kagome gets up to follow, but Akaria shakes her head and says something to Kagome, and Kagome goes in the other direction as Akaria follows Rin. They come upon a good sized 2-headed dragon, lying down in the grass of a secluded field in the forest. The creature is breathing heavily and you can see blood on its claws. Akaria proceeds towards the dragon carefully, you can see her trying to pacify the dragon as she kneels beside it and extends her index finger to the source of the wound. It glows and heals from her touch. That woman is even more amazing than you first thought.

However, your thoughts are cut short as you see Rin run away from Akaria and out of the mirror's sight. You see Akaria's body go rigid as Lord Sesshomaru comes upon the scene. She turns around to look at him, and you can see her bronze yellow eyes.

For the first time you see fear in Akaria's eyes, but not just fear, there is something else, recognition, and-

"I can see that you are very interested in Akaria."

You turn your eyes away from Kanna's mirror. You look into the shadows as a figure emerges, a man with dark night black hair falling to his shoulders.

"And who might you be to enter my castle without my knowledge and presume to know me?" You ask coldly.

The man smirks. "My name is Ryoku and I have some information about the woman, the Goddess, Akaria that I am sure you will find interesting."


	31. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30: Not Exactly Devine Intervention**

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Ello! Sorry it's taken me just about FOREVER to get this out, I have had so much on my mind and so little free time it's insane, but thank you for those that reviewed! Please continue to do so! This one's for you!

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Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

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Your P.O.V.:

You're feeling weaker and weaker by the second, but you're not going to let Sesshomaru know that. He has to pay for all that he has put you through. It may have been centuries ago to him, and something of the past, but to you, you who had been trapped in your own vortex for all that time, it seems like only yesterday.

You remember it so well; you've had so few memories since then. You remember living in the palace, trying to grow accustomed to your new life in a new place. You remember protecting Kisa, reading to Izayoi, fighting Iyana.

Accidentally finding your way in Sesshomaru's room, the first time you met him, at his own ball that he didn't wish to attend.

When he threw you aside into the shores of the sea and declined to help you save his father and his younger sibling.

All those things happened to you because of the choices he made. He affected you in more ways than he would ever know. And yet he now has the insolence to stand here before you now, as though you are nothing. You can't believe you actually bowed to him!

Not like you meant it anyways.

And even more so, he has something that belongs to you. Something you desperately need right now.

However, to your dismay, all that energy that you had managed to accumulate from your anger and rage to him has been fading, and fading fast. You need to destroy him before it all disappears, you don't know if you would be able to get your energy back once it's gone.

'I have to end this quickly before he ends it for me.' You think.

You charge at him again, but you're angry when you can tell that your speed is decreasing and he easily dodges it. He lands behind you, his sword held out, ready to dodge your attacks again.

You're finally able to get closer to him again and in the fastest movement you can make you use your nails to scratch at the top of his haori, ripping it slightly.

That's just what you needed. A thin chain of twisted gold spills out of his snow white haori, and there, at the end of the chain is your necklace. Your beautiful necklace, the symbol of the intertwining golden sun and the silver moon still as perfect as ever.

Sesshomaru really has had it this entire time. You are still angry by this, but deep inside your heart, you can't help but be relieved that if anyone were to have had it while you lay dormant, you're actually glad, try as you might to think otherwise, that he did have it and that it is still in one piece. Even though that one piece is around Sesshomaru's neck of all places. You have to wonder why he is wearing it anyways.

You can't believe it; you're actually losing your morale to fight him. Or could it just be that you're too tired to tell your thoughts apart? You really don't know, but now that you've started this, you can't turn back. The only thing that you really despise, even more than the demon before you, is to show him that you are accepting defeat.

"Sesshomaru." You say his name, gaining his attention. "You continue to do nothing but defend against my attacks. I know what you are thinking, and you might as well attack me now that you have the opportunity. Would you deny me a fight after all this time?" You breathe.

He looks at you strongly, and yet indifferent. His energy has yet to even wane, unlike you. "Hmph. You are too weak. This is hardly even a fight at all." He replies calmly.

"You know why I am this weak, then, do you?" You ask him accusingly.

"Wait. Akaria does look weaker. What's happening to her?" You hear Kagome ask quietly. You didn't even notice that they were still here.

"I am fine, Kagome, it is nothing." You reply, not looking at her, but loud enough for all to hear. "I am just disappointed that even such a worthless dog would deny me a fight." You add softly.

Sesshomaru does hear it though, and you know that that made something snap within his own thoughts.

He snaps and finally makes his first attack toward you. He uses his powerful speed to rush you and prepares to slice through with his sword. But now that you finally get a closer look at it, you notice that it's not Tenseiga, this one is different, but of course he could have, would have, and apparently did get a new sword after 200 years, so you throw that idea from your priorities list.

You hold out your sword to defend yourself from his quick attack, but what you had thought had been a good idea to make him attack first, quickly backfires on you.

Your swords collide again, but this time, you are much less lucky. The impact of his attack is too much for your sword to handle. A thick crack begins to make its way through the blade of your sword and the blade soon detaches from the hilt, breaking your weapon in half.

'Oh shit.' You think, looking at the hilt in your hands.

"Pathetic human sword." You curse at the 2 pieces. You can still see that the edge of the blade where it broke is still glowing red from such an enormous direct attack. Your right cheek begins to hurt as well and you feel warm liquid slowly dripping down your face. He had also cut your face, leaving a light scratch across your cheek.

"This fight is over." Sesshomaru tells you. "Your weapon is destroyed and your energy is gone. You have nothing else to attack with. Now, I suggest you stay away from me." He sheathes his sword and begins to turn away from you. "Jaken, Rin, we are leaving."

"Yes, My Lord!" Jaken and Rin both say simultaneously.

Rin stops for a second. "Bye, Lady Akaria! Thanks for helping Ah-Un!" She says with a wide smile, completely ignoring the fact that you and her lord were just in a battle.

"So that's it then?" You ask Sesshomaru. Or rather, the back of Sesshomaru's head. "You think that I can't defend myself now that my sword is broken? You think that I am too weak to be of any challenge to you? You think that I have lost this battle?!" You scream with what energy you have.

He stops in his tracks. "I do not think this, I know this. You are nothing compared to this Sesshomaru."

"The only Sesshomaru I am talking to is you! And I am not defeated yet!" You yell.

You throw the hilt to your broken sword to the ground and run towards him as fast as you can, which surprisingly, is as fast as your supernatural powers that you thought had left you. You stretch out your nails as they elongate into claws.

However, he anticipated this and turns in time to prepare to defend himself again. As he does not have enough time to draw his sword, he goes for another option left to him. He grabs your wrist tightly, making you wince in pain and surprise and holds it out in front of you. You can hear the gang gasp behind you, they must have thought that you would actually have the upper hand this time, and really, you had thought that too.

Sesshomaru's hand begins to glow a bright dangerous green and you can feel the skin on your hand begin to grow warm.

"Sesshomaru, I am more similar to you than you give me credit for. You should already know that poison does very little to affect me as well."

However, your hand starts to feel even worse and you can feel it start to burn rapidly. This surprises you. You hiss in pain as you can't take much more of it after a while. You really are weak.

"My poison can not affect you?" He asks, still holding on to your wrist, continuing to let the acidic poison flow. "It would seem that you are mistaken."

Your knees began to cave in and you stand with bent knees. The poison is getting to you, clouding your vision.

You don't know what other options are left to you. You take your other arm and twist it over your arm that Sesshomaru is currently strangling.

You stretch your arm as far as you can and reach to the one place you've been trying to get to all this time, Sesshomaru's neck.

Sesshomaru sees what you are doing, and his eyes widen, but he is too late, your fingers connect with the golden material, warmed slightly from the heat of his body.

In that instant, the necklace immediately reacts, but not in a way that you planned. The jewel begins to glow again, but it is much brighter than all the other times, it's producing a physical light. It's aura.

You and Sesshomaru are instantly pushed away from it with such force that the both of you are sent flying in opposite directions with immense momentum.

In less than a couple of seconds, you feel your back collide heavily with the dense bark of a large tree, leaving you spread-eagled against it for a second before you fall limply to the ground, your back against the base of the trunk as the rest of the great tree snaps and falls to the ground behind you, snapped in half because of such a great force.

"Akaria!" You hear the gang yell horrified as they run towards your flaccid form, your head hanging and your face bent facing the ground.

"Akaria? Are you all right?" You hear Kagome's concerned voice, it sounds somewhat distant, even though you can see her odd-looking shoes right in front of you.

You again feel warm liquid seep down your neck and into your ears, probably the cause of your awkward hearing. You take your injured hand and feel the back of your neck, and bring it back to your face, seeing your own shining blood in your hand. You let your hand fall limply beside you once again.

You feel 2 people then grab you underneath your arms and lift you up, somewhat roughly. You look up and see that Sango and Kagome are picking you up while Miroku and Inuyasha and Shippo and Kirara watch tentatively.

You lift your head up further to see the other side of the field, and more importantly, where Sesshomaru is.

It seems that he faired ten times better than you. First off, he didn't crash into a tree, you notice jealously. He is also on his feet, looking shell-shocked, but still in one piece.

Except for his armor, you notice as the edge of his chest plate and the pauldron on his left shoulder shatter and fall to his feet.

At that very second, his eyes meet yours. Jaken, Rin, and Ah-Un are all standing beside him, most likely to check on his well-being as well, but he ignores them as you both stare at each other fiercely.

Your gaze disconnects however, when you look at the center of the field. Your necklace is still lying there, you must have dropped it when it pushed you and Sesshomaru away. It's exactly in the center of the field, the same distance from Sesshomaru as it is to you.

You look back up to Sesshomaru and then down to your necklace and then back up to him once more before you push Kagome and Sango away from you and you slowly push yourself to walk steadily towards the center of the field.

"Akaria! Oh no, she's seriously hurt!" You hear Shippo's small child-like voice call.

"Akaria! Come back here!" Kagome cries, but all you notice is the necklace and the Sesshomaru, both dead ahead of you.

Sesshomaru does not race towards it though, as you thought he would do. If he had, he would have surely beaten you without a second thought. Instead, he continues to stare at your movements.

You are so close to it now and you can feel the energy reverberating from it.

You don't even notice the purple miasma forming all around the forest opening and encircling all of you.

"This was indeed an interesting display of powers and strength, but I have to say that I must interrupt this little get-together."

You hear a familiar voice echo all around you, but you ignore it as if you are in a trance to get to your beloved possession.

The miasma grows thicker, making the scarlet evening sun drown out in darkness, casting a shadow around all of you.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Sesshomaru draw his sword, but he is not looking at you, he is looking right past you, over your shoulder. You quickly turn and come face to face with a chest covered in a purple haori and long wavy raven hair.

"Na-Naraku, what?-" You ask, not able to finish the sentence. You turn around again to see Sesshomaru running quickly towards you. You reach down to grasp your necklace, but before you have the chance you feel 2 strong arms snake their way around you, holding you tightly against Naraku's chest as everything goes dark with miasma, totally covering you from Sesshomaru's sight, and him from you, but you're just too tired to break free from Naraku's strong grasp.

You know this can't be good for you.


	32. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31: Each End Of The Deal**

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Hi! Wow, it's been forever since I even bothered to update on this site. But now that it's summer, (and even though I'm still incredibly busy. during summer. life's not fair) I should hope to at least get the story current. We'll see.

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Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

I'm getting a little sick of this disclaimer stuff.

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"Ahh-ooph!" You exclaim as you fall onto soft material. You suppose that you might as well find that lucky, because you know that you can't do anything to help yourself right now. You can hardly stand, let alone do anything to defend yourself from Naraku, after all, you know that this must be because you broke your promise to him, and it was no small promise.

'Well, then.' You think. 'I can just tell him the deal is off, it's no big deal anyways.'

You find your bearings and begin to slowly and cautiously crawl off of the soft, silky material you're sitting on, but you find the edge too quick and you fall off, hitting your head on the floor, you're surprised at how far off the floor you were.

'At least my head broke the fall.' You think sarcastically. 'Someday all these beatings to my head will really take effect.'

Your eyes finally get used to the complete darkness that you are in, and so you get an idea of your surroundings. You find your head next to what looks like a wooden post so you reach for the polished wood and use it to help yourself up again. You finally get up, but you feel out of breath already, and you find that the material that you had landed on was in fact a bed. You can make it out somewhat now, you see that it is incredibly large and of an ornate design, and it has dark sheets, but that's all you can see, it's still very dark in the room, or wherever you are.

You tilt your head around, trying to see if you can find a way out of here, and you find yourself in luck, to your right you can see a little sliver of light down near the ground at the edge of the wall.

'That has to be a door.' You think triumphantly.

You walk over to it as fast as you can, which is still incredibly slow compared to what you are used to.

"Stupid powers...not working...pain in my ass...damn it." You mutter to yourself in split sentences, angered at how weak you really are, you can't take much more of this. Without your powers, you feel like you've lost every other ability as well, and that just makes your day.

You get to the wall where the crack is and you feel around for a doorknob, until you come across a round metal object, meaning that you found it. You grab it and begin to turn it but all of a sudden a jolt of electricity surges through your body, making your entire being go numb and you lose control of yourself as you fall to the ground.

When you wake up, you notice that you're back where you started, on the bed again, but with a horrible headache.

'Hey, I was right, it is a bed.' You think as you notice that the room has gotten brighter, somehow, and you can see everything clearly now. Although it is still rather dark, since the room is covered in curtains and shoji screens, but what you can see is actually quite nice. The room is clearly in the dark purple mood, except for the bed, covered with dark black sheets, but it's also filled with incense burners, providing a small source of light, as well as calming you down a bit.

You sit up fully, but also too quickly and the blood rushes to your head, making you feel even dizzier, so you hold out your hands to focus your vision again. You look over to where the door is and see that it is still as it was. You're not too keen on getting shocked again, so you decide that you might as well use your telekinesis. That is, if you can still use it, but you might as well try, after all, it's based on your mental strength, not your physical strength, and you're mind is still as determined as ever, regardless of how weak and useless your body feels.

You hold your hand out towards the door, and you focus your mind on nothing else but the door itself, the doorknob turning, and the door creaking open and pushing away from the doorframe.

You put all your thoughts into the door opening, but the door remains stock still. You snarl your frustration with the stupid piece of wood and give up on it moving, you go to another plan instead.

"Naraku!" You yell as loud as you possibly can, which still happens to be rather loud, even to your own surprise. "Naraku! I know that you can hear me! This was all fun, but you can end the games now! Show yourself!"

You wait a couple seconds, but no response comes. Even the air seems to hold a palpable silence.

You sigh, you can't call any louder, and you really have to save what energy that remains in you. You begin to lie down on the bed.

"You are very predictable."

You jump in surprise and look up groggily and see that Naraku must have indeed heard your calls, because here he is now, standing before you, at the foot of the bed.

"Naraku!"

"You know, Akaria, even after all this, I thought I knew your every incentive, but even then, I didn't expect this out of you. I have to admit that you never cease to amaze me, but I suppose that I am not the only man that finds surprise, as well as interest, in all that you do."

You stare at him as though he has totally lost his mind. "What exactly are you going on about?" You ask him.

This whole time he was staring at you as though you were some fascinating creature that had never been seen before, but all of a sudden, his eyes snap back to normal, well, normal for the blood red color his eyes command. He stares at you smugly.

"You really are some piece of work for playing this little act this whole time." He says in a sharper tone of voice.

You sigh and blow the hair from your face. "I see, if this is about me not keeping the promise we made, I'm afraid that I must apologize and decline the former offer you gave me. So if you would be so kind as to let me leave, that would be wonderful, and then we can both be on our merry ways." You end your statement in a sweet and sugary voice.

"Ah yes, you must probably need to find someplace, or rather, some _thing_ to get your strength back."

You flinch for a split second, but that is enough of a reaction for Naraku. "So I am correct then? Your powers are diminishing? You poor thing." He adds icily.

"Spare me; I don't need pity from you." You brush him off.

He smirks at your desire to hide your weakness. "You know, I have never seen anyone as powerful as you still be able to lose their supremacy so easily. I wonder what it is that makes your power so variable."

"I wouldn't know, this is new to me as well, I'm afraid to say." You say out of the side of your mouth.

You lift your eyes to look at Naraku as he walks over to the side of the bed, beside you. You make an annoyed face and bring your head down, but the second you look away, you feel a great deal of pressure on your left cheek as Naraku slaps you, making you fall over on the bed because you are so weak.

You hold you hand to you cheek, the coldness of your hand helping to cool off the heat of the reddening skin on your face. "What...the hell...was that for?" You ask in between breaths.

"I do not appreciate being lied to, Akaria, and yet you insist on lying to me repetitively." He answers you bitterly.

You grit your teeth and scoff. "If anyone is a real piece of work here, it's you, for playing me for a piece of shit. I must have been pretty stupid to make a deal with the likes of you."

Naraku sniggers for a second before breaking out into all-out laughter. "Well, you did, whether you like it or not. And you failed, so now your life belongs to me, whether you like it or not."

"Hmph. Well, as a matter of fact, I do not like it, but I have to say that you are incorrect; my life does not belong to you. That was not part of the deal. I am my own person, I belong to myself and no one else."

"You dare to call yourself a person? Are you so quick to forget all the lives you destroyed? The lives you ended?"

"How kind of you to help me remember." You tell him. "But I'm sorry to tell you that I am over that."

He smirks at you, making you narrow your eyes at him. "I do not think that you are." He tells you.

"What do you mean by that?" You ask, looking up at him, or at least trying to, as he slowly fades away.

"Naraku!" You yell at him. "Get back here! What are you doing to me!?!"

Everything is dark now, you have no clue what Naraku is planning or what it is exactly that he is doing to mess with your head like this. Well, all you know is that, whatever it is, it's working.

Suddenly, you begin to cough, your throat is scratchy, and you can hardly breathe. Then a light flashes in front of you, and you find yourself in the midst of a blazing fire that seems to be reaching the smoke filled sky.

That's when you hear the screaming.

There are people screaming all around you, but they don't take any note of you, instead, they seem to be running away from the direction opposite you. You look up to see what lies ahead, but some ash makes its way into your mouth, making you cough again. You hold up your hand to stifle your coughing, but your hands feel heavy for some reason. You look at them, and realize that they are covered with fresh, warm blood.

Your eyes widen in fear and shock. Your hands reek of blood and carnage. You try to wipe the blood away on your kimono, but as you do, more seems to pour out of nowhere.

At this point you are terrified. You look up to see the fire and the burning buildings, but there is something else. A young woman with dark hair looking straight at you, standing only about 20 feet in front of you, holding her hands up in the same way you are, but it is her eyes that are different. They are nothing but cold, evil, and menacing, a red glint visible in the deepest of her eyes.

You hold your hands up in fear, and the other woman does the same, but not out of fear. That's when you realize that she is no other woman, she is you. And even you are afraid of her, afraid of your own self.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, she charges at you and slices at your stomach, all the way up to your neck, making a heavy gash all the way through your torso, the blood splashing from your body, mixing with the blood of others on your hand. You're losing blood much too quickly to stop it, and it hurts so much. You scream in pain.

You fall on your knees, holding your stomach as it falls out onto the floor, only, it's not anymore. It's over, the blood is gone, it was never even there. The fire is dispersed, there's not even the slightest trace of smoke. You stare at your hands in awe and confusion. You look up, and there is Naraku, looking down at you, an all-knowing smirk gleaming across his face, knowing what it is that you saw.

After all, you only saw it, it was only an illusion, but it terrified you in more ways than one.

"That isn't fair." You tell him quietly, still holding your hands on your stomach, afraid that it might just decide to tear open again.

Naraku's smirk widens. "It is fair, and you know it. You know as well as I do that you deserve whatever your consequences are."

You place your hand on your knee and use it to help yourself up so that you are standing, on equal footing with Naraku, even if he is taller than you. "I can't argue with you there, I do deserve consequences, more than I could ever receive, but what about you? I don't see you preparing to talk about your end of the deal. Are you so easy to forget things as well? What about what I was promised from you? After all, I am not your slave, you can not make me do anything."

"Oh yes, my end of the deal, I didn't forget. My side of the deal was for your pain to go away. There is only one way for you to achieve this."

"Well, then, enlighten me. I'm here waiting." You tell him, your hands crossed over your chest.

"The only way for you to achieve all that you wish is for you to stay here with me. And why would you refuse? You can have the world here, all your problems would leave you, they are all outside this miasma." He says as he approaches you.

Your jaw falls open and you give him a look like he has got to be kidding you. "What are you going on about now, Naraku? You know that that was not a part of the deal."

"But it's what you want, real happiness, to be away from the rest of the world, where no one can hurt you. Where no one can be hurt _by_ you."

You back away from him. "How do you know this?"

He walks towards you as you simultaneously walk away from him, but for every step you take, he takes two. "I know everything that you are feeling."

You cross your arms again. "I doubt that highly."

"Akaria, how about this? If you stay with me, then I will forget about our deal."

"Uh, how about no? I like that plan better." You tell him frustrated.

"That was not a request. I do not believe I ever said that you had much choice in this matter."

You quickly turn to face him. "Ha! No choice in the matter? I beg to differ."

He cocks his head at you as though you are a rebellious child that he is just humoring. "How? You're strength is gone, you're too weak to do anything about it. You're lucky to be standing. I know you won't be getting your energy back anytime soon, so why not stay a while?" He laughs at you.

"You're absolutely crazy. I'm out of here." You brush him off and begin to walk towards the door. The hell with it shocking you, this guy is just too weird.

"I don't think so, not just yet." You pass him, but then you feel like your stomach gets knocked out as he holds you back, grabbing you with his arm, he holds you to him, your faces colliding as he presses his lips to yours.

Your eyes widen, what next from him? You're breathing through your nose as he won't let your lips go. You try to pull away from him, but he's not letting go anytime soon. You try pushing him off, but he's got your arms stuck to your sides, you can hardly move them save a couple inches. You feel like he's preparing to snap you in half.

You go to a last resort and you take the chance to bit down on his lip as hard as you possibly can, you can feel warm, metallic liquid begin to flow into your mouth, grossing you out completely.

He lets go of you in shock, giving you the chance to push away from him at last, also giving you some time to wipe your mouth in revulsion. "What the hell do you think you are doing?"

"Last time I checked it was you." He answers calmly.

"How dare you!" You scream, throwing your fist at him, but he catches it, grabs your wrist and quickly pulls you up to him once again and again throws his lips onto yours. But they don't linger there, he moves them downward, until they reach your neck. He grabs your shoulders as your teeth chatter in utmost rage, but also fear. 'I did not know that he thought this way of me.' You think.

"Why wouldn't I? You are very beautiful." He tells you as he begins to pull your kimono off of your shoulders, making his way back to your lips, you feel his tongue on them as he tries to find a way inside.

You gasp in surprise, not noticing that when you gasped, your mouth open on his lips, giving him the chance he was looking for. He instantly inserts his tongue into your mouth, trying to explore the depths of your throat as you try just as hard to get him out, when there's a knock on the door, stopping the both of your movements. Naraku lets go of you and roughly throws you to the floor where you land listlessly.

The door opens slowly, and in comes a young woman, although she still looks older than you look. She is wearing a purple layered kimono and her hair is in a short bun with feathers on it. She is also carrying a fan in her hand, and her eyes are as red as Naraku's, but still, her eyes look different than is. In some way.

"What is it, Kagura?" Naraku asks the woman, apparently named Kagura.

"There seems to be trouble coming." She tells him in an airless voice.

Even from your perspective on the hard wooden floor, you can still see Naraku's lips upturn into a sadistic smile. "Not at all, I let down the barrier just for this purpose." He looks down at you, making you shy away from him since he keeps the smile on his smooth face. "Well, Akaria, I guess we will have to finish what we started some other time, don't you think? But don't worry; we'll get another chance to discuss our plans." He says to you.

"What?" You ask him, but get your answer as you hear a loud explosion not far from where you are, making the entire room quake, almost making you fall over from your sitting position, which makes you stand up quickly. "Oh I see. Let me guess, you're going to leave me here as this place falls to pieces, and I fall unconscious, again, by the way, so that I make a nice meal for whatever demon happens to come across here, am I right?" You ask him sarcastically.

"Hm, something like that."

There is another loud explosion, but this time, it is much closer to you, and it's much worse, it makes the whole roof begin to crack and fall apart, all the pieces falling on top of you, Naraku, and Kagura. You shield yourself, and your head, with your arms as all the rubble comes crashing down. You close yourself up into a ball on the ground and wait for everything to stop.

After a few minutes, but really, what felt to you like forever, everything is silent again. You cautiously move the debris off of you to take a look at your surroundings.

You wonder what happened to Naraku and Kagura. No doubt they got out safely, most likely even before the roof began to cave in.

You're just happy that you got out of it still in one piece, and conscious too. That's always a good thing, you have to admit.

You try to find your way around the mess of wood and other broken materials, pushing away as much as you can. Without warning, some of the wreckage starts to teeter. You look up quickly as you see a beam begin to collapse right towards you.

You move through the fragments as quickly as you can, but it's not fast enough as the large beam of wood falls over completely, like an uprooted tree and falls, right on top of you. You let out a loud scream before you blank out. Again.

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Care to review? It's good karma!


	33. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32: What Is Owed, What Is Owned**

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Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

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You wake up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily, your fist thrusting out, punching the first thing that you can reach, but you're surprised when it actually makes contact with something, or really someone.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry!" You apologize profusely, but then you see that the actual thing that you did punch was that green little imp creature that had insulted you. You calm down and sigh. "Oh, it's you. Never mind then." You huff.

The toad looking thing then springs back up, holding his head tightly. "You ungrateful little wretch!" He screeches at you in that same high pitched scratching voice.

You quickly spring up at him and grab his neck, throttling him mercilessly, but the quick action makes your head pound beyond reason and you fall back down again.

"Akaria! What are you doing up? You should be resting!" You hear Kagome's voice come from right behind you; she's carrying sticks in her arms and looking at you with a shocked expression.

You touch your forehead and feel that there is a considerable amount of thick cloth tied tightly around your head, serving to bandage your head.

You think back at what you last remember and you remember a large wooden beam falling on you, then nothing. It makes you wince again just thinking about that great big bundle of fun. You press your forehead again and you cringe at the pain of it, it makes your head feel like someone has been hitting your head against a tree.

Repetitively.

You lie down again in the makeshift bed that had been provided for you and you watch as Kagome adds some wood to the fire in front of her. Soon, all you concentrate on is that fire, your wide eyes falling in and out of focus unintentionally, you feel oddly cold for being next to a fire. You look away as fast as you can to look at other things since Kagome won't let you move.

You notice that it is actually dark out, but there is still a small amount of light, signaling that the sun will rise soon.

"Kagome?" You ask her. "How many hours has it been since you found me?"

"Well, I wasn't the one that found you personally, but it took us about 2 days to find the castle, and you've been asleep for another whole day since then." She tells you.

"Great." You say sarcastically. "That's just fantastic."

"Oh, consider yourself amazingly lucky, any other person would have been dead by now."

"Probably." You admit. "But then again, I am no ordinary person." You point out.

"That's true." Kagome says.

"But you do have a point, though." You add. "I wonder how I did get out of there without any broken bones or anything. Especially considering my condition. All I have are a few scratches and bruises."

You fumble with the bandage on your head and finally manage to pull the awkward cloth off of your head as you watch Kagome stoke the fire some and then go to her big bright yellow bag and then she pulls out a cloth and dampens it in a bucket of water. Then she comes over to you and begins to clean all the scratches and bruises that she can. She takes note of you having removed the bandage and begins to say something but you just stare at her and shrug the best you can, making her drop the subject.

"You don't have to do this." You tell her, quickly feeling uncomfortable.

"It's all right, and you need these to be cleaned." She replies.

"Thank you." You say quietly.

She nods. "What I don't get is how some of these bruises are even here. There are some on your neck and shoulders. I don't think you could get these from a falling building, no matter how bad they are. What exactly did Naraku do to you?" She asks.

You gasp and jump up, almost knocking Kagome over. "Naraku! That bastard! I'm going to kill him!" You yell, your fists clenched. But then everything starts spinning around you and you feel lightheaded. You hold onto a nearby tree to steady yourself as everything returns back into focus.

Kagome gets up from where you had pushed her over and then comes over to you, holding you steady. "You know you shouldn't be this rash, especially when you're like this. Don't worry about Naraku, the others are looking for him right now. They should be back sometime soon anyways." She tells you, trying to calm you down.

"I am not being rash!" You protest stubbornly. "I just want to kill Naraku, and is that such a bad thing?" You ask her as if you are a small child.

"I suppose it's not, we all pretty much want to."

"Damn straight." You interrupt.

"Yes, but you can't honestly expect to stand a chance against him like this, can you?"

You sigh. "Ok, ok, you're right." You relent and sit down next to the fire, crossing your arms and seething. You watch as Kagome seems to be satisfied with that and then she goes off and does other things, not straying too far away from you, just in case.

You look at the moon in the sky, it's a little more than half way full, and then you look at your hair and notice that it's changed to silver again. You thread your fingers through your flowing hair to calm yourself as you stare off into space, thinking about nothing in particular, except how badly you want to strangle Naraku until he can't breathe anymore. Pretty soon you find yourself tearing your fingers through your hair just thinking about it.

Kagome notices you and stares at you like you've lost it. You notice her and she immediately looks away, and so do you as you calm your nerves again. "Hey, Akaria?" You hear Kagome say at last destroying the awkward silence.

"Yeah?" You ask absentmindedly.

"What is with your hair anyways? We noticed last night after we found you that you're hair changed to silver when the sun went down and then it changed to black when the sun came up again."

"Oh, yeah. It's merely a symbol of my being the Goddess of the Sun and Moon." You tell her bluntly. 'Not that it even matters anymore.' You think. 'The Sun and Moon rise and set fine without me, I really am nothing.'

"Lady Akaria! You're awake!" You hear a small, sweet, and yet loud voice yell from the trees and then Rin pops out and dives for you, knocking the wind out of you and knocking you over on your back. She hugs you tightly, making you cringe from the pain, but you hold it in, after all, she only means well. So you bear it the best you can and hug her back.

"And how is Rin doing?" You ask her sweetly.

"I'm fine! I caught a bunch of fish!" She tells you proudly, looking over your shoulder. You follow her gaze and see Ah-Uh carrying several fish on his back that Rin must have caught.

"Very good, Rin!" You tell her.

"Look, Kagome!" She says to Kagome. "I caught the fish!" She beams.

"That's great, Rin." She tells her kindly. "Now go wash up so you can help me cook them, ok?"

"Ok!" The young girl says happily and goes off back to the river after giving the fish to Kagome and then she takes Ah-Un with her back to the stream not far off to clean herself.

After you watch her disappear into the depths of the trees again you let out a painful groan that you had been holding since Rin dove for you. "Kagome, where did you say we are exactly?" You ask.

"We're only a small ways away from Naraku's castle. We couldn't risk taking you very far because of your injuries." She answers. "So in the meantime, everyone else went to go look for Naraku."

"Oh, I see." You say. "Hey, what is the swampy thing still doing here?" You ask her catching sight of the toad or whatever that you had punched not too long ago. It had been an accident, but still.

The imp gets up angrily. "I am the most trusted servant of the Great Lord Sesshomaru!" He says proudly.

"Ha!" You scoff. "Great Lord my ass." You say indignantly.

Kagome coughs suddenly, hiding what was obviously a laugh, but then she straightens her face again. "Now, Akaria, you shouldn't talk about your rescuer like that." She says while she puts the fish on some of the leftover sticks to cook.

"What!?!"

"I was the one that saved you." You hear the last voice, well, besides Naraku's, that you wanted to hear at the moment.

"You are lying." You turn your head to see his hakamas out of the corner of your eye, you're still sitting down after all, and you don't exactly feel obligated to stand for the likes of him.

"Actually, he's not, Akaria." You hear Sango's voice come from right behind him. Apparently they had all been looking for Naraku, but you highly doubt that Sesshomaru had honestly anything to do with them besides being in the same vicinity. "He's the one that managed to find you and rescue you out of the castle ruins. If he hadn't, we might have never found you and then you might have died." She adds.

You stand up, slowly this time, and a great deal less rash. Kagome immediately makes a noise to try to get you to sit down again, but you don't listen and she gives up. You turn and slowly walk up to him, the others watching you intently.

You look up at him, calmly. "Look at me."

He looks down at you, both physically and mentally, his gold eyes leering at you.

"Why?" You ask him, not curiously, almost accusingly.

He leans his face closer to yours so that your faces are only a small distance apart. "I do not have to disclose anything to you."

Well, so much for that.

"Fine." You say roughly. "Just fine." It's not like you actually expected an answer from him, but it wasn't for a lack of trying.

You turn away from him and proceed over to Inuyasha. "Hey, did you find any trace of Naraku?" You ask.

"No, he escaped too quickly."

"I'm not surprised." You sigh.

"What did Naraku want with you anyways?" He asks.

You glare at him for a split second before you calm down, but you snap at him. "I don't want to talk about it." You snarl, which shuts him up instantly.

You hear a scoff behind you, and you know exactly who it is which pisses you off. "I don't see anything funny." You say.

There is a short silence before he actually speaks. "Rin, Jaken, come, we are leaving." He says tersely.

"Yes, My Lord." They both say quickly. Jaken takes Ah-Un's reins and proceeds to take him out into the forest.

"Heh." Inuyasha snorts. "Not like we're sorry to see you go."

Rin, however, turns to you and quickly runs over to you, giving you the tightest hug she can, which is pretty tight, especially since she is still so young. "Bye bye Lady Akaria. Will I see you again?" She asks sweetly.

"I'm sure we will." You tell her, narrowing your eyes at Sesshomaru before looking back at her with a gentler look. "I'm very sure we will."

Rin smiles, not noticing the real meaning to your statement, but she is happy nonetheless with the answer you give her. She runs up past Sesshomaru and over towards the trees that Jaken just disappeared into.

You put one hand on your knee and push yourself up to get closer to the fire to join the rest of the gang and as you sit down, you notice that Sesshomaru has yet to move from the spot that he was just in. You sit down and turn your head back to him. "What are you still doing here?" You ask him nonchalantly. "I thought you just said that you were leaving."

He pays no attention to your words. "I will not leave until I have what is owed to me."

You roll your eyes. "_I will not leave until I have_...what the hell are you going on about now?" You ask him mockingly, making a face.

"You. Your life belongs to me now." He says again ignoring your little side comments.

You groan. "Oh no, another guy going on about how my life belongs to him. I must really be popular." You smile jokingly at Kagome, who can only nervously smile back, hiding her face from Sesshomaru as best as she can.

You feel him right behind you. The rest of the gang stands up apprehensively. You stiffen your back but don't bother to get up. "You are my property now, so now you must come with me." He says dangerously.

"Oh! I see how it is! So the big hero decides to get cocky and feels that he should get payment from the damsel in distress, huh?" You yell at him, getting up off of the ground. "Look, I appreciate you saving me, if in fact you really did, I'm still doubting it, but that does not mean that you own me. I owe you my life, yes, but not my being. I am my own person." You tell him calmly.

"That does not matter to me. I do not care for your being." He says, then he delicately places his hand around his neck and pulls out a chain from his haori, and of course, your necklace, still attached to his neck. "And if you want to get this back, I suggest you follow."

"You little-damn it! I thought I pulled it off!" You scream.

He smirks and places the necklace back, hidden within his haori. "Come." He says as he turns to leave for real.

You seethe with rage. But it's Kagome who speaks out first. "Now, Sesshomaru." She says nervously, walking up to stand beside you, placing a hand on your shoulder to calm you down. "You can't do this, Akaria is still healing, and besides, she is her own person."

"Kagome." You say shocked.

Sesshomaru stops and turns his head to you. "I said come."

"I said no." You reply.

"I don't mind fighting you, Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha interjects, drawing his sword and getting ready to fight again.

"Inuyasha, sit." Kagome says without a second thought, shaking her head as Inuyasha comes crashing down.

Miroku and Sango and even Shippo stand in front of you as well. "You can't make her go, Sesshomaru!" Sango says.

Miroku stands up to him even further. "Sesshomaru, answer this, why is it that you want Akaria to come with you anyways, what is her purpose to you?" He asks boldly.

"I do not state my reasons to mortals." He says angrily.

That's when you feel an immense rush of energy spiraling its way to Sesshomaru. No one else can sense this surge of energy though. This _demonic_ energy.

Your eyes widen. You don't want anyone to get hurt because of you. Not anymore. Sesshomaru, though, as you know, wouldn't hesitate in the least, and frankly, you know that he would be glad to get rid of his younger brother, which leads to your bitter resentment of him all these years as it is.

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" You say, pushing your way through all your recently new friends. "Fine, Sesshomaru! I see what you're doing! I'll go with you for goodness' sake if it means that much to you!" You give up.

"Akaria!" Kagome protests.

"It's ok." You smile faintly at her. "And after all, I have to retrieve something that belongs to me. I'm starting to think it's the only reason I'm standing at all. I can feel its energy."

You walk in front of the gang, even Inuyasha who managed to peel his way off of the ground. You bow to them gratefully. "Thank you, all of you, for caring so much about me and helping me."

You turn to leave but Kagome stops you. "Akaria! Wait!" She calls to you.

You turn around to look at her again and see her run back up to you. She hugs you quickly. Then Sango approaches you and does the same. "Promise you'll be careful." Kagome says.

You smile. "I promise. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

You walk back over to Miroku and give him a hug, slapping his hand as it tries to reach your ass, but you only smile and then hug Shippo and Kirara as well. Then you quickly give one to Inuyasha who stiffens for a second before patting you on the back awkwardly.

"I remember when you were a baby. I didn't think I would see you again after that, but now I have and you're already taller than me." You punch him playfully. "Your parents would have been proud." You say which makes Inuyasha gasp for a second before calming down again, making you smile kindly up at him again.

"Well, see you guys later!" You say, waving and then finally running after Sesshomaru who had waited, still impatiently though, for you. You roll your eyes as he turns and walks away, you following behind him, making faces at him the whole time without letting him notice.

The two of you finally come across the river that Rin and Jaken were waiting for their Lord at.

"There you are, Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin says happily.

"Let's go." He tells them.

You walk out from behind him and Rin notices you, making her squeal with happiness. "Lady Akaria!" She runs up to you and hugs your legs. "Are you coming with us?" She asks.

You pat her head. "It sure seems that way."

She smiles up at you. "Yay! I'm so happy!"

You hug her back. "Now go run along, it seems we're leaving now." You tell her.

She nods happily and takes Ah-Un's reins and leads him after her lord.

You smile at how happy Rin is to have you come with them, but as you follow closely behind, you have to admit that, deep down, it's what you wanted as well.

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Review? It will make you feel good inside! (I am much too happy for my own good...)


	34. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33: Much More Left To Say**

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Hi again! I must say I was never fond of these last few chapters. I can still remember the writer's block. Honestly, I'm too lazy and too busy with other things to go back and fix this story and rid it of the many plot holes. Maybe one day I will get back into this story and really fix it up. But no promises. haha.

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Disclaimer: I have no claim over anything to do with the "Inuyasha" manga or anime. This includes the anime series, and the movies. This story is for entertainment only, and no copyright infringement is intended in any case. Copyright over "Inuyasha" belongs to the creator Rumiko Takahashi.

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It's only been a couple days since you left the gang, and now the only thing you seem to be doing is walking. Walking and following the path of a certain demon. Even though it's been a couple days, you bet you haven't said more than two words to each other. Seriously. You've hardly even bothered to look at him this whole time. But hey, you're not complaining. And anyways, it's not like you need anyone to talk to, you were on your own for months just a while ago, and you did all right being all alone.

However, you do have someone to talk to that isn't such a jerk in your opinion. You've got Rin to talk to, and she does indeed talk. Even though it's only been a while, you've come to know Rin even more. She is really such a sweet young girl, always carefree and always happy, unlike her other companions.

That's something you find yourself thinking every now and then. What is Sesshomaru doing with a young human girl as a travel companion? Last time you saw him he was the epitome of cold, heartless bastards! Back then, all he really cared about was himself and his "honor". Well, can't say that he's changed, can you?

Then again, didn't everyone tell you that he was the one that saved you from the ruins of Naraku's castle? But why? Why would he care what happened to you? Especially after Naraku had captured you in the midst of a fight you were having with him, and you really don't see Sesshomaru as that forgiving. You had been sure that if you were to be saved at all from Naraku, it would have been because of Inuyasha and his friends, not this guy.

Scratch that, you just admitted to yourself that you needed saving! What could have reduced you to having to think such things? What could have reduced you to the weak and pathetic form you are now?

You hate to admit it, but when those human villagers called you the "Black Goddess", you had obviously been amazingly powerful and strong. Nothing could stop you, no one could tell you what to do. You did as you pleased. That is, until that Naraku came along and deceived you. But in your opinion, he doesn't count.

Nonetheless, only a short while ago you had been so strong that humans and demons alike feared crossing your blood-stained path, not that you're one to brag, but now look at yourself! You're as weak as an ordinary human! You're so weak that Naraku betrayed you, even though you did go back on your word, but still, he showed his true colors because you became so weak, and you did not like what you saw.

And now, you're so weak that you are reduced to following Sesshomaru around like a pathetic servant, forced into his blackmail.

You look up at him in front of you, walking his way through the forest to who knows where, and all you can do is follow. You have to wonder how the rest of his companions can take following him blindly everywhere.

'Great, I sure do love to seethe.' You think. 'This guy is driving me crazy!'

You've thought often about just waiting until his guard is down and then simply jumping him, then taking your pendant and running away, but that would be way too rash, and way too stupid. And besides, it's not like he ever lets his guard down, he's like a damn hawk! And in your current state, where you can't even run full speed, he could easily take you down and crush any ideas that you might have of repeating an attempt against him.

You don't want to admit it, but you're pretty much stuck.

But that's what this is all about, and the only reason that you are following him at all, for your necklace, you have to keep reminding yourself that.

But why? It's just a piece of jewelry! It makes you feel so stupid! Risking your neck for a dumb pendant! Why do you always have to go do stupid things just because you are so damn determined to get it back?

Well, there's the part where your parents told you to always keep it with you, and how important it is and all that good stuff, but you lost it 200 years ago, and when you were revived, you were still just as strong as if you still had it, goddess powers intact and everything. Then all of a sudden, they fade away, but why? Why? If you could be so strong without your necklace, why are you weak now?

'Talk about fair.' You think sarcastically.

That's when you feel like you've walked headlong into a wall, except that it's not a wall. Unless a wall can have long silver hair. Well, shit.

For some reason, Sesshomaru just stopped, leaving you free to walk straight into his back, which includes his armor, and it sure is called armor for a reason as it pushes you back and you almost fall over except Ah-Un happened to be right behind you and you ran into him.

"Watch it!" You yell at him, mostly out of instinct, even though it angers you that you had to actually talk to him again. Your stubbornness only allows you about 2 words a day to converse with him and now you just used them up. However, the only thing he does is glare behind him at you, simply acknowledging your existence if anything at all, and then he calmly lifts his head out in front of him.

"Rin. Stay here." He says.

You know that he's sniffing something out, especially when, for no good reason to you, he jumps into the air and passes through the thickness of the trees and out of sight.

"What the hell?" You ask no one, totally confused. Sesshomaru can sure be random at times, and unpredictable as well.

You hear Ah-Un grunt and Rin jumps off of him and runs over to you. "Don't worry, Lady Akaria! Lord Sesshomaru does this all the time, mostly to go after that Naraku man!" She tells you happily, as if Naraku was just a friend that Sesshomaru went to visit all the time to go have drinks or something.

"Oh, ok then." You say. "Well, now what?" You ask her as if you were the child and she was the older one.

"We have to stay here now until Lord Sesshomaru gets back." She tells you as she begins to walk around back and forth, gathering sticks. She lays them together in an organized pile and then takes off Ah-Un's muzzle and then simultaneously, Ah-Un's right mouth shoots out a blaze of blue light, and the wood instantly catches fire.

"That's handy." You comment as Rin finds some mushrooms not far off that she can eat. You notice Jaken sit down beside Ah-Un and begin to rest while Rin begins to roast her food.

You walk over to her, slowly and warily approaching the fire, but when you realize that you're just being stupid and you know that you have to get used to fires, you sit down, feeling like you want to smack yourself. You can't be afraid of fire! You're the Goddess of the Sun for goodness' sake!

You sit down and watch Rin. "You sure can take care of yourself really well for one so young." You state.

She nods. "I've had to since I was really little, my parents and brothers were killed by bandits when I was younger. I still have dreams about it." She says, and for the first time, you see a sad misery in her eyes and hear it in her voice.

"Oh, dear, I'm really sorry." You tell her.

"It's ok, I'm with Lord Sesshomaru now."

"Hmm, how did you meet him?" You ask curiously.

"I found Lord Sesshomaru hurt in a forest once and I tried to help him, but then I was killed by wolves, but Lord Sesshomaru brought me back to life." She tells you.

"With his sword." You muse offhandedly and she nods. "Well, I never thought I would see the day, but Sesshomaru does seem to care about you." You tell her.

You sit and lean back, your hands holding you up. "Ok then, so now what, Rin?" You ask bemusedly.

"We wait here until Lord Sesshomaru gets back!" You hear Jaken say from the other side of the fire.

"Hey I thought you were asleep!" You shoot back. "And anyways, you can't be serious! He can't expect us to just sit here, can he?" You ask, surprised. Well, sort of.

You look to Rin and she just looks back and nods. "Lord Sesshomaru always asks us to stay where he leaves us."

You stand up and put your hands on your hips and smile mischievously. "Well, that's no fun at all. Hey, Rin, do you want to go do something?" You ask.

She hesitates for a second before finally giving in and she stands up with you eagerly. "Ok!"

You take her hand and begin to walk off into the forest, but Jaken stops you. Or attempts to. "That's not a good idea! Lord Sesshomaru will be very angry!" He says worriedly.

You roll your eyes. "He won't notice, and besides, Rin is just a small child, she needs to have some fun, and I'm just plain bored." You say and then walk off past him without hearing another word of what he says, your nose in the air, but a smirk on your face.

You and Rin walk a ways, until you come across a good sized stream rushing through the forest. You let go of Rin's hand and then calmly place your feet in the edge of the stream, letting the cool water rush over your feet.

"Come on Rin! The water is great!" You call to her as she watches you. She smiles excitedly and rushes over to join you.

You both watch the water as small fish slink by the both of you, causing Rin to squeal happily and you to laugh as well. You then get an idea and slowly put your hands in the water while Rin is looking away and then you splash her with a wave of water, making her shriek and nearly jump. You can't hold back your laughter.

"Lady Akaria!" Rin giggles.

"Sorry Rin, I had to do it." You shrug innocently.

"Very funny! I see how it is!" She says and you brace yourself.

"Wait Rin! Wait! I'm sorry! I-" You can't talk anymore as you get a splash of water all over your face. You wipe the water out of your eyes.

"Let the water fight begin!" You yell and then take as much water as you can and splash it all over her as she does the same to you.

Soon you both find yourselves in an all out water war. You're both drenched beyond reason, but you both can't hold back your laughter. Suddenly you trip over a wet rock and find yourself landing in the stream on your back. Rin can't help but point and laugh at you, but she quickly stops, thinking she hurt your feelings.

"Are you all right, Lady Akaria?" She says concerned.

You hide your head and your wet hair streams over your shoulders. Rin gets worried, thinking that you're crying, but she soon sees that she's wrong as you let out a huge laugh and then begin to splash Rin all over again.

"What are you worried about, silly?" You tell her, laughing even more, starting the battle again.

After a while, you notice that the sun is beginning to set, the sky is changing to a deep orange, and the shadows of the forest are elongating. You know it's time to head back before his royal pain gets back.

"Oh dear, Rin, I think it's time we headed back before we're missed." You tell her and then pick her up out of the water. You take off your kimono and hers, leaving you both in your thin yukatas. You take the kimonos that are covered in dirty water and mud and then quickly wash them so that they can dry better. You take them in your hand, and then take Rin's hand with your other hand and begin to return to the camp, you both smiling, even though your jaws are aching, but you're still happy.

After a while of walking, the sun fully sets and the moon begins to replace it, you know your hair and eyes have changed as well. You pass through the bushes and enter the camp once again, the fire that Rin had left was still blazing, but still in check. Everything was as you had left it, except for the added entity sitting by the fire, waiting your return, but he couldn't be any less happy.

You roll your eyes and shake your head, barely acknowledging Sesshomaru at all, but he notices you.

He looks over to the both of you, but mostly you, his face impassive, but you know that his eyes are what show his true emotions, and you bet that his eyes could set the forest on fire.

"Did you enjoy yourselves?" He asks the both of you, but Rin remains silent. You smile cleverly.

"Yes, thank you. We had a wonderful time." You smirk, but it is thoroughly wiped from your face as you find yourself slammed into a tree with a seismic force, the mere impact of it makes the forest shake. You choke for air as a hand strangles you, holding your throat from receiving any air. Your eyes begin to widen as you grab onto his wrist to try to push him off and gain some air, but you can't even speak, you just make choking sounds against his hand, you feel your feet leave the ground. You look straight at him and see that his eyes have become red. Talk about mood swings.

"Lord Sesshomaru! Please don't hurt Lady Akaria!" You hear Rin's voice and you instantly feel guilty. You know you're the one that convinced her to go to the stream and leave the camp, but she's still defending you. Sesshomaru seems to notice as his eyes soon change back to their normal gold and he drops you, letting you fall in a heap against the tree, holding your throat and trying to force air into your lungs, all the while, Sesshomaru stares down at you as if you're just some poor miserable trash that he had to take along, watching as you try to steady your heart rate again.

You look up at him. "Never disobey me." He says and then leaves you to go back to where he had been before.

You stare at him and give him a look that just says "Have you had too many head injuries in your life?" as Rin rushes over to you.

"Are you all right?" She asks you. You sigh and smile gently at her.

"Yep! I'm just fine! Don't worry about it!" You say in a happy tone, standing up and then gently picking Rin up, lifting her on your hip and taking her over to Ah-Un, laying her down.

"It's time for you to get to sleep." You tell her. "It's getting late and you need to rest." You smile.

She returns the smile, completely forgetting her worries of earlier. "Ok." She yawns, further evidence that she is indeed tired.

You smile and sit next to her small form and tuck some loose hair behind her ears, gently rubbing her back to get her to sleep. You don't know why you are acting like a mother would, but you sort of feel like you should, and it makes you feel rather good inside. You stay next to her for a while, just watching her, her shoulders rising up and down as she breathes. While comforting her you notice that her breathing pattern changes. She's fallen asleep.

You close your eyes and sigh, but you're far from falling asleep. You hear Ah-Un grunt at you and you pat its heads and then lean back on its side.

You look up at the moon, out of reach of the fire, and you sigh again. You look down and notice that Sesshomaru is looking at you, something you didn't expect. You stare back, your face just as unfeeling, holding all your emotions inside you. For several seconds you both just stare at each other across the fire, looking into each other's eyes, his gold, yours emerald green, but you're the first to end the staring contest as you look away, closing your eyes. You open them and then look back at him to see if he is still staring at you, but he isn't, he's looked away as well, his eyes closed, resting.

You think for a second, gathering your thoughts, your eyes darting back and forth, looking in all directions, and you figure you might as well.

You quietly lift yourself up off of Ah-Un, making sure that you don't wake Rin, or Jaken you suppose, and you walk to the other side of the fire. You know that he notices you, but he acts like he doesn't. You didn't expect anything else of him.

You stand right in front of him, and look down at him as he is still persistent in not acknowledging your presence directly in front of him. You lean down and then sit right in front of him so that if he does open his eyes, which you greatly doubt as it is, the first thing he will see is you. You take a deep breath, not too loud, but loud enough so that if his ears were not as keen, he would be able to know that you were trying to obtain his attention. That's when you say something incredibly difficult for you to say, especially to him.

"I'm sorry."

* * *


End file.
